Content - The Shedhttps://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/Wed, 16 May 2018 23:26:47 +0000en-USSite-Server v6.0.0-14284-14284 (http://www.squarespace.com)The Shed Issue 78, May/June 2018ProjectsThe ShedTue, 12 Jun 2018 01:41:00 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/15/the-shed-issue-78-mayjune-201858ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5ad3fe3ef950b77bff827d57In The Shed issue 78, May/June 2018 we meet two Sheddies who are restoring,
preserving and upgrading valve radios. We head to Whanganui to meet Graham
and Val Hawtree who are avid vintage radio buffs then to Retro Radios in
Dannevirke who restore valve radios bringing most into the 21st century
with Bluetooth and USB upgrades.

In The Shed issue 78, May/June 2018 we meet two Sheddies who are restoring, preserving and upgrading valve radios. We head to Whanganui to meet Graham and Val Hawtree who are avid vintage radio buffs. They have hundreds of vintage radios in their collection which is getting close to warranting a museum to house them in. Then we visit Alistair Ramsay of Retro Radios in Dannevirke who restores valve radios and also brings some into the 21st century with Bluetooth and USB upgrades.We head to Pukekohe to report on the 39th Annual Classic Motorcycle festival and discover The Colonial Trading Company in Featherston which is a real man cave of a shop for Sheddies everywhere. We review the book by Bruce Shalders, Railway Houses of New Zealand then head to Taranaki to cover the ground up restoration of a Plymouth Superbird muscle car, known as a Roadrunner. Jude shows us how to weld from scratch a sturdy bench to support his lathe (part one) before we head to London where expat Kiwi, Dean Johnstone, builds some replica $150,000 Infinity hi-fi speakers in his shed. Paul Downie makes world-class Harpsichords in his Auckland workshop and he shows us how he does that unique and delicate building these wonderful instruments that are sought after far and wide. Hugh McCulloch sees the replacement of an old fridge as a Sheddies opportunity to renovate their kitchen and we have the final part of Mark Beckett's soldering tips and tricks. We head back to Taranaki, to Eltham, to explore the collection of incredible bits and pieces gathered over the years by Mike Coil - he has even collected a piece of tarmac from NZ’s first tarmac street!Enrico Miglino gives some solid 3D printing advice re choosing your projects correctly, before Coen Smit shows us how he made a stunning steampunk Viking rowboat and Bob Browning also shows us how to build a simple honing guide gauge from MDF. We finish off this issue with a visit to the shed of Otago artist Sean Boyd, who creates extraordinary works of art from discarded everyday items.

]]>The Shed Issue 78, May/June 2018Cufflinks for an Occasion The ShedFri, 18 May 2018 02:17:24 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/5/16/cufflinks-for-an-occasion58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5afcbe3788251b64556859c1For this pair of links, I used a textured surface I took from a slab of
natural cork that I once attacked with an engineer’s wire brush. I have
used this over the years on hundreds of pieces of jewellery from rings to
earrings and bracelets.By Peter Minturn

Create textured, monogrammed silver cufflinks as a gift to celebrate a special date or person. This project will explore how to produce a cast textured surface and use it to make a pair of monogrammed cufflinks. The textured face of the cufflinks can be produced in two ways. For the first way you will need some sculpture wax, available from Regal Castings tool department. This is a soft brown wax that becomes softer still when warmed in warm water. Simply press the wax into the a suitable textured surface and peel it off.

Our students have produced some incredible examples from many surfaces. They have used brick walls, heavy woven material, even the texture of the 3M Nomad plastic mats used to catch the silver on the soles of our shoes.

TEXTURE For this pair of links, I used a textured surface I took from a slab of natural cork that I once attacked with an engineer’s wire brush. I have used this over the years on hundreds of pieces of jewellery from rings to earrings and bracelets. My wife has a bracelet and ring made like this. The other method is to take the impression of your textured surface with Fimo modelling clay or a similar modelling material which hardens when placed in an oven on low heat for an hour. When it is hard, you again press in the wax, but with this method you arrive at a texture the same as the sample. With the first method, you have a negative image of the texture.

Once you have produced a texture that you are happy with, you cut your wax to the size you require. Shave the back down if the wax is too thick. Send it off to the casting company to have it reproduced in silver or gold. These textured surfaces in 18ct yellow gold are just beautiful. With sterling silver castings that I’ve had made, I will make cufflinks that are just a simple rectangle. There is a lot of truth in “less is more” and the rectangle is an almost religious shape to designers.

To start, I true up one side of the casting with a coarse hand file. Then with a small set square, I mark a right angle on the face with a darning needle in a pin vice and square off one end. I am making my links 14mm x 22mm, so I measure off 22mm and again scribe a square line across the face and cut it off with the saw. Again square off and trim it down to 14mm. Repeat the operation to make the other face.

Now we have the basic shapes for the cufflink faces, we can trim down the backs if they are too heavy. The links need only to be 1mm or so in the thinnest part of the texture face. This is most easily done by putting the face on a dap stick with some shellac or setters cement to hold it firm and filing the back with a coarse file until the required depth is reached. Clean off the cement – warm methylated spirits will do the job quickly (I put the meths in a jar in my ultrasonic cleaner) – then on the sides and the back of the cufflinks, fine file and emery to 1200 grit.

Pierce out the inside holes

1: Toggle arm template 2: Saddle folded over to 2mm gap

TOGGLES Now we come to the toggles that hold the links in the shirt. Most commercial cufflinks have machine- made findings. It seems to me that they are designed entirely for the jeweller not for the client. Because those toggles are sprung, they are prone to snapping back into the vertical position which will almost certainly ensure that the link will fall from the cuff. When making expensive cuff links, I always use a handmade non-sprung toggle.

First you need to make a template for the toggle arm and then another for the toggle itself. Because handmade cufflinks are made most often to celebrate special milestones in life’s journey, I often add the date to these toggle faces to mark this special occasion. The toggle arm for this kind of link is shaped to conform to the shirt cuff and is angled both on the face and the toggle to sit snugly on the cuff.

Because silver is softer than gold, the arm for silver links needs to be cut from plate that is 1.3mm-1.5mm thick. Place the template over the plate in the most economical place and mark round with your darning needle scriber. Drill the holes for the toggle saddle first and cut out the slots before you cut out the toggle arm shapes. Doing this job first while both arm shapes are still part of the silver plate makes holding the piece a lot easier. I usually put my maker’s mark and carat alloy stamp on this part of the links. When the toggle arms are cut out, finish off with fine file and emery the toggle arm to 1200 grit.

The toggle itself I usually make as a long oval. This ensures it will go through the cuff buttonholes with ease. For these I use my draftsman’s oval templates and find a long oval with a 30° ratio about 16mm x 8.5mm. If the toggle is flat and plain I cut it from 1.2mm plate. If it is to have a slight dome, I use 1.5mm and file in the dome, rather than punch it in. If the toggle is to have a half-pierced date on it, I use 0.5mm for the back plate and 1mm for the pierced top plate.

Solder toggle arm

DATE To pierce a date in the toggles, I first sketch out the type of font I will use in an oval the same size as the finished toggle. Then I blow up the sketch on the photo copier and redraw it as accurately as I can. This way when you reduce it back down, you will have a very precise line to paste onto your template copper.

Pierce out your template, and when it is as perfect as you can make it, scribe it onto a 1mm plate. Pierce all the inside holes out first, again because it is much easier to hold. Cut out the ovals and solder them with hard silver on to a piece of 0.5mm plate. Cut out once again and file to the oval’s scribed line.

All that remains to be done is to make a saddle for the toggle from 1mm plate. The saddle will be about 3mm wide and folded over to have a 2mm gap. Fit it through the slot in the toggle arm and make sure it will allow the toggle to move easily. When you have adjusted the saddle to fit the arm slot, solder one side only to the centre of the toggle.

Maker's mark and carat alloy stamp

LETTER Before I solder the toggle arms to the cufflink face, I have one more job to do. I am going to add to the textured surface of the silver an 18ct yellow gold “D”. I intend to give these cufflinks to a pal, for his 70th birthday, hence the dates I have chosen for the toggles in this exercise. Again I will choose a font, draw it to 1:1 scale and blow the sketch up to ensure a good shape. Repeat

the same process for this monogram as we did with the pierced toggles. When the monogram is pierced out, place it on the link in the position you wish it to sit and draw round it with your scriber. With a dental burr, carefully burr away the high spots inside your scribed line until your letter sits flat. It is not important that the whole of the back sits against the textured surface, just enough for you to be able to solder it into place safely. Turn your monogram letter over and place paillons of solder on its back surface and melt the solder until it covers the back surface. Pickle and rinse and then file away the solder until just a thin coat remains. Place the monogram onto the textured face and if your burring has been well done it should sit where you intend it to go, without wanting to move. Flux it well, hold the face in cool tongs and direct the blow torch heat from below the head until the letter is soldered into place.

When both letters are in place, clean up the back of the cufflinks face to remove any oxides and with a third hand hold the toggle arm in place and with very small paillons, solder into place. All that remains to be done, after you have pickled the links, is to polish them and assemble the toggles. I use a small stiff brush for this job as it will not remove the nice sharp edges.

SADDLE When you have polished all the pieces, open up the saddles with a sharp knife and hook them over the slots in the toggle arms. When they are in place, close down the staples with a pair of parallel pliers and a piece of leather to protect the links face. If you do this job well you will not need to solder the other side of the saddle. It will be plenty strong enough to do the job and you do not have to risk the wonderful finish you have just imparted on the job with the polishing mops.

ENAMEL As a final flourish, I am going to enamel the pierced dates on the toggles. Traditional glass enamels require the article to be heated in a kiln to near-destructive levels of temperature in order to allow the glass powder to melt. It also requires the use of very toxic and dangerous acids, for which we do not have the room or the facilities at the school.

So we invested $10,000 in an enamelling system based on the ultra-violet enamelling technique that your dentist uses. This requires no acids or heat and is much easier to apply, less likely to damage, but like anything even remotely associated with dentistry is very expensive. Fortunately, a very little goes a long way. The enamel is placed in the cloisons (a walled enclosure), or in this case in the half-pierced date, after a cleaning fluid and a bonding agent have been applied. The enamel is applied in very thin layers, and cured under Ultraviolet light for about six minutes per layer. When the cloisons or in this case the date grooves are just over full and the last layer has been hardened, you can now emery the excess enamel away and polish it with Tripoli and Rouge in the usual way.

The final result is an extremely personal, very professional and safe-to-wear set of cufflinks.

]]>Arduino 101 Part 3ElectronicsThe ShedWed, 16 May 2018 04:11:26 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/5/15/arduino-101-part-358ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5afb5ecd575d1fc4d1a99350In this article, we show how an arduino microprocessor is complex enough to
exercise variable control, not just the expected computer approach which is
that something is working, or it is not. Digital devices have only two
states: on or off. An analogue device on the other hand can have a near
infinite range of states. By Terry King

In this article, we show how an arduino microprocessor is complex enough to exercise variable control, not just the expected computer approach which is that something is working, or it is not. Digital devices have only two states: on or off. An analogue device on the other hand can have a near infinite range of states. Think of a light; it can be dimmed or brightened by adjusting the current. Arduino can provide an analogue output. It’s called analogueWrite( )and it is used to control the brightness of a LED, the volume of an audio output or the speed of a motor. It does this with a technique called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). PWM is available on pins: 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11.

In the first article Arduino 101 Part 1 we made a LED work so fast that its blinking ceased and it appeared became a constant light source. We did so by changing the delay between the pulses. This is what PWM does. The arduino outputs a square wave, a simple on and off signal, which flips between OV (LOW)and 5V (HIGH). Varying the duration of the (HIGH) signal versus the (LOW) will change the apparent brightness of the LED. The pulses can be varied in discrete steps between 0 and 255 with 0 being Low and 255 High. At a value of 127, the pulse will be HIGH for 50 percent of the time and LOW for 50 percent.

The set up for the potentiometer PMW sketch

The duty cycle of the pulse is 50 percent so the LED is receiving an on signal for only 50 percent of the time; to the eye it appears to be dimmer. At a setting of 64 (25 percent of the 255 maximum) the pulse would be on for only 25 percent and low for 75 percent, a duty cycle of 25 percent and the LED would appear only 25 percent as bright.

Having to program in the brightness will have its uses but if we want more immediate control using PWM we can use an analogue device like a potentiometer (pot). To do this we will have to set up the arduino to read the analogue values of the pot (as we did for the servo example in Part 2, The Shed Oct/Nov 2012) and set these values as PWM values. In this case we will use two LEDs. One will become brighter as the other decreases.

Wiring layout for the pot PWM sketch. This was made with Fritzing software which can be downloaded at www.fritzing.org

Now we will add another level of complexity by using a sensor to control the output. This time we will use an LDR or Light Dependent Resistor. This is a resistor that changes its resistance in response to the presence of light. The LDR has a high resistance until it detects light. However we can configure it much the same as the pot to deliver a value to light a LED. This has a number of uses: turning on the lights as darkness approaches; detecting something passing across a sensor (think of the light-based doorway sentries).

The values the LDR delivers are not exactly proportional to the analogueWrite() output. So we have to calibrate the output. Set up the LDR on the breadboard as shown and run the following sketch. Use something to block the light to the LDR and see the LED alter in brightness. A black film canister works well (if you can still find one).

The LDR doesn’t always work over the full possible range of responses and in fact may operate over only a limited range. So to maximise the range we need to map the output. Map is a common function in arduino programming wherever analogue devices are used. It determines the input parameters (0-1023) and aligns these to the output values (0-255). Usually the sensor will operate over a much smaller range so to ensure proportionality we need to map its range of responses and match these to the digital output.

Serial Communication It can be useful to read the values directly. The arduino is powered and programmed via the USB port and this port is a two-way communications device. Through it we can read the input of devices connected to the arduino, too. This is called serial communication. To view the values read from the LDR, use the following sketch. After you have uploaded the sketch click on the monitor button in the top right-hand corner of the IDE screen or select the “serial monitor” from the Tools menu in the Arduino IDE. Read off the values with the LDR fully exposed and fully covered.

Mapping results Now we can map these maximum and minimum values to the arduino to see if there is any improvement in the accuracy. We got a reading of 3 when dark to 550 for full light, so map these figures using the MAP sketch. There is another way to set and calibrate the analogue readings directly. It is in the example sketches of the Arduino IDE under Analogue/Calibration. This sketch will allow the sensor to calibrate in the first five seconds after starting and map the values it receives to the analogue output. It does effectively what we just did with the serial interface and then carries out the PWM program using those values.

Project It’s time we started to implement all this in something more practical. Here we will use some of the above to create a device that will activate a heater or a fan. It’s basically a thermostat and it could be used to control a heater in a fish tank or temperature and humidity in a glasshouse or even controlling the temperature of your home brew.This one will be used to provide climate control for a kennel, which actually houses a cat banished to the outdoors for anti-social habits. We will make use of two more items from The Shed Arduino Kit—the temperature sensor and the opto-isolated 2 channel relay.A relay is a means of switching high- powered devices without actually having to connect the microcontroller directly to the device. The opto-isolator means there is no direct electrical connection between the arduino and the load being switched.The isolator works with an infrared LED and photosensitive transistor in a tiny package. The opto-isolated relays are rated to work with 240 Volt mains power. We urge you use extreme caution working with mains-powered devices.

Ideally don’t mess with it unless you really know what you’re doing and ideally always use an RCD between the device and mains. In our case, we will set the relay to switch a 12V fan salvaged from a computer and for the heater a 12V powered carbon- fibre heat pad. You can substitute LEDs or even 12-volt lights to test that the device is working.

2 Channel Relay The relay requires its own 5V power source. The arduino cannot reliably supply sufficient current to switch the relays (actually it can just but it is safer to use a separate supply). So you will need to remove the jumper between JD-VCC and VCC on the right and connect the relay power supply here. You can use a 5V supply from a phone charger as long as it has at least 1amp capacity.The digital inputs from arduino are active LOW. The relay operates and the LED lights when the input is set LOW.

You will still need to connect VCC from the arduino and the signal wires to the relay board. There is no need to connect the ground wire from arduino as the board can use the common ground from the power supply.

Temp control of Relays The Maxim (formerly Dallas) One Wire range are clever beasts that are able to pass power and data over the same wire. They actually need two wires (Pwr/Data and GND), but for this example we will use all three. Connect the DS18B20 to + 5V and GND. The Data goes to Pin 2 of the Arduino. Data sheets on the device can be found at http://datasheets.maximintegrated. com/en/ds/DS18B20.pdf or http:// www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/ OneWire.

The later is an excellent learning site too. Fita4K7Ω(oruse2x10kinparallel) pull-up resistor between +5V and Data pin (Pin 2). Relay Outputs use Pin 7 and Pin 8 of the arduino. There is no particular reason for this except they aren't PWM pins. The sketch identifies it can reach a DS18B20 chip, and then reads the DS18B20 every second (it takes 750mS for a full reading to be available).

If the temperature is below 14°C, then it turns on Pin 7 which operates the heater relay. If the temperature is above 29°C then it turns on Pin 8 which operates the Fan relay. We can flash pin 13 (LED) to show it running and have it ON when one or other relay is on. We will use two settings for each temperature i.e.LowTempOn (14°C) and LowTempOff (24°C), HighTempOn (29°C) and HighTempOff (25°C) to stop the relay chattering. You can set the values wherever you wish however.

Sketch Because of its length and complexity we have loaded the sketch to the dedicated arduino page on the The Shed magazine website (www.theshedmag.co.nz) along with the OneWire library you will need. Before you load the sketch you will need to load the OneWire library. To do this, find the arduino folder for PC. It will be MyDocuments/Arduino/Libraries and for Mac it will be Documents/Arduino/ Libraries. If you haven’t got a folder called Libraries make one and download the OneWire.h file from the arduino folder on The Shed magazine site and install it here. Do this before you start up Arduino IDE. Upon start up, arduino will find the Libraries file and install it under the Sketch/Import library menu. You should find it under the Contributed menu. Now when you load the sketch it will find and retrieve the OneWire library protocol to identify the device.

Setting UpThe relay requires one power lead be run through the relay. Relays have three connections NO, COM and NC. The NC (normally closed) is set to the COM. Connect +12v power lead to the COM (Active for AC) then connect the NO to the Fan (or Heater).Once everything is set up, run the sketch and turn on the serial monitor. You will see the temperature begin to scroll. You can test the relays by holding the temperature sensor between your fingers and watch the temperature rise. You should get to 30°C this way so it should easily trigger the fan. I found I could use a chilly bin refrigerant brick to get the temperature low enough for the heater unit. Removing the arduino from the computer and powering it with yet another 5V wall wart (never throw out a wall wart) kept the process going all night. Now it just remains to package it properly and test it on the resident.

]]>The Shed is now the sponsor of The Auckland Blade ShowMetalworkOtherThe ShedMon, 14 May 2018 06:15:15 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/5/14/the-shed-is-now-the-sponsor-of-the-auckland-blade-show58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5af91f03aa4a9921440c2c38This knife show in Auckland on October 6 and 7 is not one to be missed for
those who appreciate the great craft of knifemaking. They will be plenty of
stands with all sorts of knives and knifemaking paraphernalia to enjoy,
discuss and purchase.The Auckland Blade show will be held at the Parnell Community Centre, 545 Parnell Road on the weekend of 6 & 7 October 2018. The Shed is proud to be bringing you this show and we'll be there to meet and great Shed readers.We met up with the event organiser, Brent Sandow recently when we visited him in his Auckland knife-making shed. Brent has a very impressive workshop with a huge array of machinery and vast range of stunning knives that he has made

We were very impressed with Brent's workshop and set up

Brent is heading to the USA in the coming weeks to attend a knife show, sell some merchandise and meet up with friends and colleagues in the world of knifemaking. He will also be travelling around the US to view other knifemakers work. Luckily for us, Brent will be reporting on the show for The Shed so look out for that article in Issue #80 on sale early August.

Here is a small selection of Brent's fantastic skills, a selection of Loveless-Style blades with unique handles. Second in from left a red Micatta, brown Micatta, interior Mamouth tusk, crutch Cocobolo, Giraffe bone, Arizona Ironwood and another Giraffe bone.

For more information on the October Auckland show, contact Brent on email, knifebug44@gmail.comSee you there.

Some of the Auckland-made custom-designed sheaths Brent can provide with his knives

]]>The Shed is now the sponsor of The Auckland Blade ShowArduino 101: Part 2ElectronicsInventionsProjectsThe ShedThu, 10 May 2018 23:34:43 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/5/10/arduino-101-part-258ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5af3cc6c03ce64cc2b84c25eSo far we have begun to get acquainted with the Arduino and IDE, the
“sketches” or programs that make it work, and we have got it working
blinking an LED on and off. In this article we will delve a little deeper
preparatory to diving right in with a fully edged project with some real-
world applications in the next issue.By Terry King

So far we have begun to get acquainted with the Arduino and IDE, the “sketches” or programs that make it work, and we have got it working blinking an LED on and off. In this article we will delve a little deeper preparatory to diving right in with a fully edged project with some real- world applications in the next issue.We have set up a page on The Shed website to hold all the arduino sketches we are discussing here. You can simply copy and past them into your own IDE. To begin you need to understand a bit about electricity (see panel) and how that translates into the digital scheme of things.

t's easy to connect many things to YourDuino. There are many pins for Ground and +5V. The two pairs of pins on the right side are handyfor connecting to your breadboard. Three-pin cables with the standard pattern of Ground- Voltage-Signal (usually Black-Red-White) plug right in.

Circuit diagrams GND, INPUT, OUTPUT, etc.Arduino is powered by +5.0 Volts of DC (Direct Current).We show the +5.0 Volts connected HIGH on the top. Look closely at the YourDuino nd the PIN marked "5V". That's the one +5.0V power is connected to. Where does it come from? In the rst place it comes from the USB cable from your computer to Arduino. There is provision for a dedicated power supply, however. We show GND (Ground) connected LOW on the bottom of the Arduino. Find the Pin marked "GND". There are actually 3 "GND" pins.

Rails The parallel lines of +5V (HIGH) on the diagram, and GND (LOW) on the diagram are called Rails. Like railroad rails across the top and bottom. Almost everything that happens on Arduino is between the +5V (High) rail and the GND (Low) (0.0V) rail.

Digital signal You will hear Digital signals described three or four ways: but 0, OFF and LOW mean the same thing. And 1, ON and HIGH mean the same thing. When a Pin (or wire or connection) changes from 0 to 1, or 1 to 0, we say it is a SIGNAL, like someone raising or lowering a ag. Each signal is referred to as a BIT (a Binary InTeger) A bit is a number which has only two possible values: 0 (Low) and 1(High).

Bits & Bytes A group of 8 bits is called a BYTE. 1024 bytes (8192 bits) is one Kilobyte(It’s based on 2 to the power of 10 (210). 1048576 bytes (2 to the power of 20) is 1 Megabyte (MB) and 1 Gigabyte (GB is 230.) Note that this convention is not the same as a kilogram which is 1000 grams. Output signals: An LED or Buzzer connected to an Arduino OUTPUT can "signal" you that something has happened. Input Signals: If you push a button that changes an INPUT, you "signal" Arduino that something should be done.

Time to hook real things up to those INPUTS and OUTPUTS. Take a couple of minutes to look at the Arduino board closely. All regular Arduino boards have the same overall size and the same long black connector strips across the top and bottom edges. These are female sockets that pins can plug into. Let's look at the details. First the top connector: The sockets are numbered 0 to 13 from right to left. These are the DIGITAL INPUT/ OUTPUT connections. You can push wires or the pins on the end of wires into those "Black Holes" and connect them to many different devices. We then tell the arduino how to treat them: as Input (digital Read) devices or output (digitalWrite) devices.

Digital input Our circuit diagram shows a very simple circuit using a pushbutton to control the outputs of two LEDs. Make up the circuit shown on your breadboard. The pushbutton switch causes the INPUT to change from LOW to HIGH, which is a "signal" to the arduino. Arduino can change the OUTPUT on one LED from LOW to HIGH, and the other from HIGH to LOW. Copy and paste the sketch into your IDE and load it. This sketch adds three constants: two LEDs on pins 10 and 11 and a new INPUT, the BUTTON on pin 3. This sketch introduces a new concept essential to all microprocessor and computer programs the “If” statement.

If statement The “If” statement makes the computer ask a question and take an action based on the answer to that question. In this case we have asked it to digitalread the buttonPin and compare it to a reference. The == symbol is used when we need to compare a value against a reference you supplied (that’s what HIGH means). It returns an answer of either true or false. If TRUE then the program carries out the actions described in the curly brackets immediately following. If FALSE then it runs the instructions in the “else” condition. The else condition is optional the default is to do nothing and make no change.

Feel free to make additions to this sketch and try different combinations. Add more pushbuttons for example or more LEDS.

Resistors You may be wondering what the purpose of the 10kΩ resistor connected to the GRD rail is. This is what is called a pulldown resistor. In this case it ties the output to ground when the button is open. Remove it and see how the circuit performs. Without the resistor the arduino gets no signal to the pin so it tends to pick up stray electromagnetic signals called noise and these can cause the pin to fluctuate between its two states rapidly and generate an inconsistent response. The resistor ties the circuit to ground with a high resistance when the circuit is open so the pin has a LOW signal rather than NO signal.

The lower resistance of the closed circuit (when the button pushed) will activate the pin high as more current will flow directly to the pin overriding the pulldown resistor. The switch will PULLUP the pin against the PULLDOWN resistor. These resistors are important in digital circuits. They can also be used as pullup resistors keeping the circuit high when open.You will also notice the addition of the two 220Ω current limiting resistors for the LEDs (see LED panel). We didn’t need this previously because the Yourduino has one built in to Pin 13.

Resistors are the most common electronic component; they are also the simplest. They have one job to do and that is to restrict the flowofcurrent. Resistanceismeasuredin Ohms with the Ω symbol. They range in value from 1 ohm to megohms (MΩ). Resistors are non polar so they have no specific orientation. They are usually marked with coloured bands and these bands have a specific code. It’s worth knowing the code and you will probably get to know it with time especially the more common values. You can also check a resistor’s value with a multimeter set to read resistance but being able to read the code is a serious time saver. There is much more to know about resistors and how they operate in a circuit and Make:Electronics is a recommended source for more information.

RESISTORS COLOUR CODEMost resistors have a colour code to represent their value. There are 4 or 5 coloured bands on the resistor. To one end is a stripe of either gold or silver usually alone. If you orient this to be on the right side then the first two bands from the left represent the value of the resistor. The third band indicates how many zeros to add orits exponent for those that know their maths.

Analog In So far we have covered digital signals out (digitalWrite) and digital in (digital Read). But Arduino also has analog inputs. Analog inputs are far more common than digital (although that is rapidly changing). We have incorporated several into the starter kit. Digital has two values either on or off but analog has an in nite number of values. One example of an analog in the starter kit is the potentiometer. A potentiometer (or Pot) is a variable resistor.

The Pot has three connections, the outer two left and right are connected to the +5V and GND respectively and the centre connection is the signal. From the schematic you can see that the pot is basically a surround of resistive material and a wiper that contacts it.As we move the pot, the output voltage going to Arduino varies from 0 to 5 Volts and all the values in between. Arduino reads these as values from 0-1023 where 0 is the GRD and 1023 is +5V. In this sketch we will use the input signal from the pot to control a servomotor. A servomotor is motor that can move to any position through 180 ̊. They are widely used for controlling things like steering, for example, but any purpose that requires incremental operation of a mechanical device is suitable for a servo. The stepper motor in The Shed Start Kit has three wires running to a three- pin female connector. These three connections are GND (Brown) +5V (Red), and Signal (Orange) respectively. You will see on the Yourduino board that there are a number of three pin connectors in both the digital and analog connectors.

The digital connections in the top block are coloured white, red and black. The black is GDN, the red +5V and the white is the Signal. This is the connection for the three-pin connectors. If you have a different arduino you will have to improvise this connection on the breadboard.

Find the sketch called ServoPot in the sketch depository in The Shed website. Copy and paste it directly into your IDE. Set up the circuit as described on your breadboard and the arduino and upload the sketch to YourDuino. As you move the pot the servo should turn back and forth. What’s happening here? An Analog Input Device (the Pot) is feeding a varying voltage into an Arduino Analog input. The Arduino sketch is making decisions based on that value to send an Output Signal to the Servomotor. Arduino is reading the position of the Pot wiper scaling that into a digital signal and sending that signal to the servo. To ensure that the servo actually has time to move to the position there is a delay of 25 milliseconds before it reads again

]]>There is now an RSS feed on The Shed websiteThe ShedWed, 09 May 2018 21:56:13 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/5/9/there-is-now-an-rss-feed-on-the-shed-website58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5af36c6503ce6449ddad7be9If you prefer The Shed's new uploads to its website to come to you rather
than you to come and keep checking what's new, then good news.

If you prefer The Shed's new uploads to its website to come to you rather than you to come and keep checking what's new, then good news.There is now an RSS button on the site so you can keep right up to date and never miss out on a good yarn or some great advice.Sign up today with your favourite RSS feed application.

Make a useless machine and win prize packs of goodies for the ones that impress the judges

Our first prize pack is this collection of car books and special editions, plus a Best Of The Shed

The catalyst for this competition was a video link sent to me by a friend.For some strange reason these devices fascinate and amuse people and it is not easily explainable.For those puzzled by the term, you may wish to check out the video placed on The Shed Magazine FB page https://www.facebook.com/theshedmag/posts/2040129286260778According to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useless_machine ), the modern version is credited to Marvin Minsky an MIT professor who came up with it as a Graduate Student at Bell Labs back in 1952.Those of a certain age have commented that it reminds them of a money box, that you placed a coin in a certain position and a hand came up and snatched the coin into some holding container.Wikipedia suggests that this is not useless since it acts as a money box.Regardless of the function, the mechanics are similar, which is why people make the association.How does this useless machine work?In its most simple form, there is a battery, a motor and gearbox, an arm, and two switches all housed in a container.When the external switch is operated, the motor powers up, moving the arm, which turns the switch off. The second switch provides power to the motor until it returns to the ‘resting’ position.The schematics for this useless machine are shown at the end of this article.

The competitionI sent a couple of video links to The Shed publisher (Greg Vincent) and he spent countless hours watching them before asking the question “Well, are you going to make one?”My response was “No” but we could run this as a competition amongst the readers.I would give the details, and let them use their creative imaginations to build this or another useless machine.Once completed, Sheddies could upload the pictures and a video of their useless machine working to The Shed FB page and hey, I also suggested that we give some prizes to selected entries.

Commercial UnitsA quick search on the Internet will give the readers plenty of ideas and inspiration. I’ve seen some very clever versions and some artistic versions showing the builder was very creative.You can even buy one, or just the mechanism for less than a couple of coffees in those cups no one knows what to do with.However, the idea of this competition is for Sheddies to build your own. I know our readers are clever and I marvel at some of the creations that feature in each issue of the magazine, so I know it can be done.

SafetyI can envisage some rather large and powerful creations if someone decided to supersize one of these, but it is important that these creations are safe.There is nothing worse than having someone injured because they put their finger into the mechanism either deliberately or accidentally, so please ensure that the build is child-friendly.You may also want to consider the forces operating the external switch, and ensure that little fingers cannot be pinched when the arm comes to operate it.Post your entry on our FB page and we will authorise your post once we have had a look and a laugh at it. As a responsible publisher we reserve the right to not post or remove anything deemed unsafe or dangerous.

]]>The Shed Useless Machine competition by Mark BeckettArduino 101: Getting StartedElectronicsThe ShedMon, 07 May 2018 05:05:54 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/5/2/arduino-101-getting-started58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5ae937e0aa4a990f06595abcThis is the first in a series of articles to introduce the versatile and
extraordinary Arduino system to people with no prior knowledge of
programming or electronics. We will take you step-by-step through how to
set up, program and use the Arduino and provide a series of projects that
will help you gain the knowledge you need to free your imagination and work
with this revolutionary device.By Terry King

This is the first in a series of articles to introduce the versatile and extraordinary Arduino system to people with no prior knowledge of programming or electronics. We will take you step-by-step through how to set up, program and use the Arduino and provide a series of projects that will help you gain the knowledge you need to free your imagination and work with this revolutionary device.

The instructions make use of what we believe is the best starter kit we have seen on the market and now available through The Shed magazine. The starter kit will take you to intermediate level and leave you proficient to tackle your own more advanced projects. It includes an Arduino clone board, a breadboard, LEDs, cables, sensors, relays and even a servo motor. All you need is imagination.

Low cost Arduino is a low-cost microcomputer that is the centrepiece of the new toolset of the 21st century. It brings us a new set of capabilities to make things that are active, decision-making, and tireless. The main Arduino toolset is free, open- source software that works on almost any computer. The Arduino microcomputer board designs are open-source and can be freely copied and upgraded. One upgrade is the YourDuinoRobo1 that is included in The Shed magazine Arduino Starter Set. Arduino allows you to make things that are aware of conditions (like temperature, light, etc.) in the real world around it. You decide what decisions it should make and what actions it should take. Actions can include control of lights, motors, valves, heating/cooling, communications and much more. You wire together ideas and electrical things... with today's equivalent of No 8 Wire.

What can you do with it?• Home automation to control the energy use of your home;• Fully automated greenhouses and hydroponic setups;• Miniature GPS-guided and gyro-controlled aerial drones with cameras;• Simple things like controlling your workshop lights and fans.

Yourduino Robo 1

Getting started All you need to get started is an Arduino-compatible microprocessor board, desktop or laptop computer (for programming the Arduino) and input and output devices. The Shed magazine Arduino Starter Set is an easy low-cost way to get started. It contains everything you will need and more. In fact it will be basis of this series of articles that will get you up and running with the Arduino.

Free Software Microprocessors like Arduino are just mini-computers on a chip. They need instructions (programs) to carry out their functions. In the Arduino environment we call them sketches. All the software you need to run the Arduino is available from the Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) at www. arduino.cc.

Arduino software looks virtually the same on Windows, Mac or Linux but the installation procedures are different. You will be guided on the different installation procedures from the Arduino IDE.

Yourduino Layout

Check out the YourDuinoRobo1 (much of what we discuss here is also common to other Arduino boards).At the lower left is the PWR LED which should light up whenever the board is plugged into a USB connection, or has power from an external power supply. At the upper left there are two green LEDs which will blink when a software sketch is being downloaded to the board or other data is being transferred over USB. At the top is a red LED which is internally connected to pin 13 through a current-limiting resistor. It should blink after you load the example BLINK software sketch.

Download the IDE for your computer first. Just follow the directions on the Arduino site that apply to your computer. An Arduino is a complete microprocessor system on a board. It includes the processor, power input, and input/output (i/o)pins where data can be input and actions output. These are usually referred to as digital and analogue pins. There are also several LEDs incorporated into the board usually as surface mount devices (SMDs). Plug the Arduino board into your computer via the USB cable provided. If you have the YourDuino plugged in and running, the POWER "ON" LED is on and the "13" LED is blinking. If it isn’t check your connections and start again.

Using the breadboard to light a LED

Software With the Arduino icon on your desktop, click it and you will see the "Arduino IDE Window" pop up. Here you will develop your own software to make Arduino into what you want it to be.

Sketches The visible text of an Arduino software program is called a Sketch. There are lots of examples that come with the free Arduino software system, and we will look at some of them later, as well as make our own. A Sketch comes alive when you upload it to your Arduino so let's look at a Sketch, Verifying and Uploading it. Click on FILE which opens a dialogue box. In this you can mouse over EXAMPLES, then across to 1.BASICS and then across to click on BLINK .The new IDE window opens and explains that BLINK turns on an LED for one second then off for one second and repeats. This is an example of code in the public domain..

Notice that a lot of the text is grey. All of that is just "Comments" for you to read to help understand the Sketch. When you write software, you should also use "Comments" to explain to others what you are doing. (Arduino ignores these comments).

Structure Every Arduino Program has the same basic structure. SETUP - Runs once at the beginning. LOOP - Runs over and over again, forever. Read the example through carefully, a couple of times. Note the coloured special words that are Instructions. These are unique words that tell Arduino what to do. They have to be spelt perfectly. SETUP: Instructs Arduino about things that need to be done once. Arduino Digital Pins can be used as either INPUT or OUTPUT. You have to tell Arduino when a Pin will be used as an OUTPUT. In this example, there is one line that tells Arduino that Pin 13 must be an OUTPUT. Note the colour of the lettering. The Arduino IDE changes the colour of words as it recognises them as special instructions.

Instructions When Instructions are two words run together, like pinMode, the beginning of the second word is capitalised. If you change the capital "M" to "m" note that the colour changes to black. If you click VERIFY, you will get an ERROR message. This is because every letter has to be correct and also correct upper or lower case. Change it back. Check the colour. Click Verify again.

VERIFY is a program in your computer that goes through every instruction in your sketch (ignoring “comments”) and checks it against the list of valid instructions. It checks that the structure and sequence of the statements in the sketch are correct. If it’s OK, then it "compiles" or "translates" the sketch into the actual machine code that Arduino really runs on. It saves that ready-to-run code for you to upload to Arduino and run. Other systems would

call this process "Make" or "Compile". UPLOAD first runs Verify to check and compile your program. Then it communicates to your Arduino over the USB connection and resets the Arduino chip. It talks to software already on Arduino (called the BOOTLOADER ) to load your new program into the Arduino's memory (Arduino will remember it, even if the power is turned off). Then it restarts Arduino and your program runs the SETUP section and then repeats the LOOP section. Your sketch is running. Let's look in detail at the instructions. Instruction: digitalWrite

This instruction sets an OUTPUT PIN to either HIGH (connects it to +5 V) or LOW (connects it to GND). Remember: HIGH =1=ON=+5V.So,thefirstlineinLOOP sets PIN 13 to HIGH. There is an LED and resistor already connected to PIN 13, so the LED lights up.

Instruction: delayThe delay instruction just waits for a period of time. The VALUE used with delay is in milliseconds (1/1000 second). So delay(1000); waits for 1000/1000 seconds (1 second).Notice that every instruction is followed by a semi-colon " ; ".Suggestion: Save your own version of BLINK so you can always go back to the original one. Go to File and Save As and call it something like MyBlink. This will go in your SKETCHBOOK where you'll save your own programs. If things are messed up, just go back to what worked and start again.

1: Pin 13 connected to bread board 2: Connecting the breadboard to the power outlet

Changes Let's make a few changes to the sample BLINK program. The LOOP section of your program does all the instructions in the section, and then "loops" back to the top and starts it again, over and over. Note the curly brackets { }. The beginning and end of the section is inside brackets. You will see many sections of bigger programs that are grouped by these brackets.

Let’s change the VALUE in a delay statement to change the way the LED blinks. Think about the four instructions in LOOP.

What's happening?Turn the LED on. Wait and look at the LED.Turn the LED off. Wait and look at the dark.So, let's change the ON time to be short. Maybe 50 Milliseconds. That's 1/20 of a second. Then try 10 milliseconds. The LED is only on 1/100 of the time. Can you still see it blink? How about 1 millisecond? Each time you make a change, click Upload which will first Verify and then Compile your program and send it to Arduino. When you do this the LEDs that are marked "TX" (Transmit) and "RX" (receive) flash as your computer communicates with the Arduino.Try some combinations of ON and OFF times. Like ON 1000 and OFF 50. Try making both ON and OFF times shorter and shorter. If you make the ON and OFF times short enough, your eye will no longer see blinking, because of persistence of vision which happens when there are more than about 25 blinks per second. So make the LED be ON for 1/50 of a second and OFF for 1/50 of a second. You can save any of the sketches for use later on. Then go to File>Sketchbook and you'll see them.

Breadboard Wires and electronic parts like LEDs and resistors can be plugged into the breadboard and easily be removed or changed. The holes in the breadboard go down into little sockets with metal contacts. Sections of the breadboard have rows or columns that are all connected together, making it easy to have multiple things connected together.

The horizontal rows have five holes (abcde) and (fghij) with sockets that are connected together. Any wires or parts that are plugged into this row are connected together. The vertical columns (+red and -blue) have the same connection running all the way down. We will use these to connect +5V on our YourDuino board to the +Red and to connect GND on our YourDuino board to -Blue. On the breadboard we will mainly use the upper +Red row and the bottom -Blue row. We think of these parallel lines as rails. The top red rail is the +5 Volt rail and the bottom blue rail is the ground rail.

Breadboard Diagram

Wires What about wires? Locatethe "40 pin flat cable" and the "Male-Male Pin Connectors" inyour set. To start we will connect the 5V rail to 5V on the YourDuino board. We will use the CableMaker 40 pin flat cable in the kit for wires. You can easily strip off one or more wires or strip off a section to use as a cable. The ends of these wires are female connectors that can plug onto the connectors on the Robo1 or a Sensor Shield. Your kit has a strip of Male-Male Pin Connectors with 40 pins each. These can be cut or snapped off and used as pins for the breadboard. You can cut or snap off the number of pins you need. To start snap off about 6 single pins. Run a red wire from a +5 pin on the YourDuino to the +red rail on the breadboard. Run a blue wire from a GND pin on the YourDuino to the -blue rail on the breadboard. Now it's easy to connect things to the 5V (+red) rail or the GND (-blue) rail.

Plug a 220 Ohm (red-red-brown) resistor and a red LED (long pin to the left) into the breadboard as shown. Now add a wire (black is shown) from the same vertical strip as the LED to the GND rail. Connect another wire (green is shown) to the same vertical strip as the left end of the resistor and use a pin to plug it into the YourDuino socket labelled 13. (Use male-male pins where you need a male end to plug into the breadboard or YourDuino)

Power up Time to power up. Plug the USB cable from your computer into the YourDuino. The PWR LED should come on and the pin 13 LED should be blinking in the way you last programmed it. If necessary load the original Blink and upload it to YourDuino. The LED you just wired up on your breadboard should blink the same as the 13 LED on YourDuino. If not, recheck that you have it wired as in the photos and the LED's longer lead is to the left. To work out what is happening, unplug the wire from YourDuino pin 13 (keep the pin with it).

Now try two things:• Plug the free end of the wire into the +5V Rail. It should light up.• Plug the free end of the wire into the GND Rail. It should be off.

Try it a few times, like 1 second to +, 1 second to GND. Now plug it back into YourDuino Pin 13. It should blink again. What's happening here? The YourDuino is doing exactly the same thing automatically that you did manually. It is connecting the circuit connected to pin 13 to the +5V Rail and then connecting it to the GND Rail. That's how digital outputs work.You have a good beginning in setting up YourDuino, programming it and wiring up external devices.. In our next issue, we'll think about circuits.

Be sure to check out Arduino Part 2 to find out more!

]]>The Good Wood: MacrocarpaWoodworkThe ShedFri, 27 Apr 2018 00:06:20 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/8/the-good-wood-macrocarpa58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5acaced770a6adaedb44b8f1Macrocarpa (Cupressus macrocarpa or Monterey cypress) is a native of
Southern California that like another Californian species from the same
Monterey area (Pinus radiata) found New Zealand to be a more comfortable
environment and thrived here. It grows faster and larger here than in its
native environment, possibly due to the lack of pathogens that beset it in
its home environment. Macropcarpa is a great eco alternative to treated timber.By Jude Woodside

Cupressus Macrocarpa

Macrocarpa (Cupressus macrocarpa or Monterey cypress) is a native of Southern California that like another Californian species from the same Monterey area (Pinus radiata) found New Zealand to be a more comfortable environment and thrived here. It grows faster and larger here than in its native environment, possibly due to the lack of pathogens that beset it in its home environment.

In New Zealand it was traditionally used for fence battens and posts. Posts made from heart timber will last for 20 years in soil and battens can last longer. It was often grown for windbreaks on farms and for a time the majority of the timber available came from shelterbelts and untended woodlots where the growing conditions were less than ideal and thus the proliferation of timber with very twisted grain may have given the timber a bad reputation for furniture uses. In the 1970s and ’80s some farm forestry lots were trialled but most were abandoned due to cypress canker—a fungal disease—and the trees fell out of favour with foresters. But currently there are at least 18 species of cypress grown here, the most popular being Cupressus lusitanica, or Mexican white cedar, which is resistant to canker.

Macrocarpa has very little sapwood. These cut logs show sapwood quite clearly as a lighter area.

Plantation grown and properly pruned it will grow straight and provide long, clear lengths. It grows nearly as fast as radiata.

In many respects Macrocarpa lusitanica is a better building timber than radiata, particularly in the durability stakes. As macrocarpa is a cypress it has natural oils that deter insects and fungal growth making the timber the equivalent of H3.2 for use above ground. So it can be used without having to resort to the toxic trio of copper, chromium and arsenic (chromated copper arsenate or CCA) with which radiata is treated to achieve the same durability. The aromatic content of the wood also makes it an ideal choice for use in pantries and kitchen cabinetry where it will naturally deter moths and ants.

Lusitancia is a closely related species often included as macrocarpa

Close grain Macrocarpa is also a good furniture timber although the curly grain of the timber requires well-sharpened blades for work to avoid the risk of grain tear out. The timber also needs to be dried carefully to prevent checks and collapse. It is usually air dried rst before being kiln dried.

Macrocarpa is a soft timber but works easily and it is slightly harder than radiata. It has a close grain similar to kauri and will turn well. It does need to be predrilled for screws or nails due to a tendency to split, especially when the wood is well dried. It will sand to a lustrous nish and will take oil nishes and varnishes well.

Macrocarpa has a large quantity of heartwood that is more durable than the sapwood. The heartwood is a golden honey colour that will become more pronounced over time with exposure to air. This process is enhanced with a protective coating such as oil or varnish. Exposed to the outdoors macrocarpa, like most timbers, will age to a silver-grey colour but it retains its durability outdoors where it is often used for chainsaw-carved benches and outdoor picnic tables. Its durability, especially in larger-sized pieces, and its eco friendliness make it popular for raised garden beds and compost bins.

Breaking down macrocarpa logs

Macrocarpa, unlike radiata, has very little sapwood. Given the high ratio of heartwood to sapwood it’s surprising that macrocarpa has been neglected for so long as a framing timber. As it requires no CCA treatment the timber is delivered dry, not weeping from the preservative, and thus is less subject to warping after installation. Sawdust and general handling poses less of a health hazard than CCA-treated timber too.

It has been traditionally used for exposed beam ceilings but is becoming more and more popular as a cost- effective weatherboard alternative to cedar. It’s also seeing more usage as T&G panelling and sarking where the colour and natural defects can provide visual interest too. Macrocarpa is also used in ooring overlays, gates and fences, slab tables and bench and bar tops, cabinet making and boat building.

1: Dressed macrocarpa boards 2: Some of the varied outdoor uses for macrocarpa 3: Macrocarpa used as interior lining material. The trusses are also

Wood movement All wood will move with humidity and temperature in general and it will move in two main directions•TANGENTIAL: Where the wood moves along the lines of the growth rings in timber this is a side-to-side movement. If you picture the growth rings as a circle around the tree then this movement is at a tangent to the growth rings. • RADIAL: This is movement perpendicular to the growth rings. It will also move along the length of the timber (longitudinally) but this movement is small enough to be ignored. The movement is in the direction of the radius of the growth rings.

Macrocarpa and lusitanica have very good dimensional stability—better than radiata in tangential and radial shrinkage that means it will swell and shrink less in response to atmospheric humidity. Macrocarpa will also accept most timber adhesives and paints.

]]>Sean Briggs, Oamaru Stone carver from Shed Issue 75, Nov/Dec 2017. Photographed by Juliet NicholsMy ShedOtherVideosThe ShedTue, 24 Apr 2018 07:48:58 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/24/sean-briggs-oamaru-stone-carver-from-shed-issue-75-novdec-2017-photographed-by-juliet-nichols58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5adedfe4352f5301327b6737Spend a few minutes with Sean in his mobile carving shed
]]>Sean Briggs, Oamaru Stone carver from Shed Issue 75, Nov/Dec 2017. Photographed by Juliet NicholsBright Spark: Making model engines and spark plugsMetalworkCarsInventionsProjectsThe ShedFri, 20 Apr 2018 04:50:26 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/17/bright-spark-making-model-engines-and-spark-plugs58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5ad576520e2e72ed9a0db67eWhen I left school I took on an apprenticeship at William Cable in
Wellington. Unknown to me at the time, this opportunity would lead to a
life-long interest in model engineering. By John Stichbury

When I left school I took on an apprenticeship at William Cable in Wellington. Unknown to me at the time, this opportunity would lead to a life-long interest in model engineering.

My apprenticeship gave me a wonderful grounding in all aspects of engineering. I began in the tool room under the guidance of a great engineer and tremendous mentor who was prepared to take the time to pass on his knowledge and expertise. This definitely was the fuel that ignited my interest. The next step was time spent in the pattern-making shop at the foundry which gave me the knowledge of how to make small alloy castings in my home workshop.

1: A Morris Minor side-valve engine from the mid 1950s. The engine is 15cc, water-cooled and runs on 91 octane with spark ignition 2: A 1930s Kinner k5 cylinder rotary aero engine over-head valve used in trainers prior to World War II.

Engine bearings In the general engineering shop I learned how to weld with both gas and electricity. It intrigues me to realise things have greatly changed since then. One particular skill I acquired was learning how to re- metal engine bearings with white metal then machine them back to size. These bearings ranged from Austin 7s through to half-ton ship bearings—a broad spectrum.

As my interest was really in the mechanics of what could be achieved in the tool room in my spare time, I began making miniature models for myself. This interest has continued and I have gathered numerous small tools over 50 years. I have a well-equipped workshop with two mills, two lathes and a large selection of hand tools and I spend many hours there.

1: The same Morris Minor engine assembled 2: Frank Whittle's first petrol aero — an 8-cylinder petrol engine designed and built for the RAF in 1938 3: A 12cc overhead-vale marine engine built without castings 4: A double-acting, single-cylinder steam engine built from scrap brass.

Over the years of making many different models—including steam trains, stationary steam engines and small jet engines—my interest and focus has been on internal- combustion engine models. All my engine components, including gears, pistons, rings, crank shafts, etc, are machined from scrap.

I realised miniature spark plugs have become increasingly difficult to source, not to mention very expensive, so I decided to make my own. Trial and error ensued and then finally success.

1: The beginning of making the outer body — a piece of old mild steel was machined to the diameters to take a 1/4 inch (6.35mm) thread and a hexagon 2: The finished diameters ready for threading 3: The completed body ready to be screwed into a mandrel in the milling machine 4: The hexagon being milled in the dividing head on the mill

DIY Spark PlugsYou can still purchase mini spark plugs from overseas but being able to make your own means you can vary the thread depth to suit your own designs and you are saving in the vicinity of $40 each.

The basic material components of a spark plug are as follows:

a piece of scrap mild steel

1⁄4 pint (118millitres) old engine oil

Corian off cuts (sourced from a kitchen manufacturer)

small piece of brass

1 mm tungsten welding electrodes

1: The completed body ready to be turned round in the lathe and counter bored to a depth that would leave a flat bottom to allow subsequent milling producing an electrode2: The electrode being milled to the required width3: The components partially assembled. The metal bodies were heated with a gas flame until blue and dunked in old oil producing a black lustre4: The completed plugs alongside a short-reach champion spark plug

MethodFirst I machine the mild steel scrap to take 1⁄4 inch (6.35mm) x 32 model thread. I transfer it to the mill and machine the blank to take a 5/16 inch (7.94mm) hexagon. Reverse the piece on the lathe and mill a 4.8mm blank hole for the insulator.Reverse the body again and mill the end to form an electrode.When this is completed heat the body in a gas flame to a blue colour and then quench in old engine oil. The old oil produces a black lustre on the surface finish.Take a piece of Corian and cut it into suitably sized lengths. Machine it into a round tube 4.8 mm diameter and drill a 1 mm hole the full length to take the electrode.A small brass cap is placed on top of the electrode and welded so the ignition wire can be attached. Once all components are thoroughly cleaned the electrode can be glued into the insulator with superglue. Fit a suitably sized gauge between the two electrodes temporarily and glue the insulator into the body leaving the required spark plug gap

]]>It lives!VideosProjectsMy ShedThe ShedThu, 19 Apr 2018 05:30:16 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/19/it-lives58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5ad826b5758d464041d75a19Back in early March of 2018 a Sheddie was challenged to rebuild a Johnson
25 HP outboard motor that has been stored as a box of parts for 44 years. A
few weeks later...
]]>It lives!Shed Issue 77 subscription prize winner announcedOtherThe ShedTue, 17 Apr 2018 21:53:17 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/17/shed-issue-77-subscription-prize-winner-announced58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5ad66a958a922de6081e1207Issue 77 subscription prize winner announced, is it you?The subscriptions winner for Shed issue 77 has just been drawn. Eric Holland of Waimate is the lucky winner of this Teng Tools AmPro 7 drawer wagon tool set. Eric's prize will be on the courier to him shortly. You can win great prizes too, subscribe at magstore.nz and be in to win great prizes in each and every issue.
]]>Shed Issue 77 subscription prize winner announcedEnjoy a train ride alongside the Oamaru harbour - photography, Derek GoldingVideosWeldingMetalworkThe ShedMon, 16 Apr 2018 07:09:13 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/15/enjoy-a-train-ride-alongside-the-oamaru-harbour58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5ad1649e88251b90ed18420aWe featured the Oamaru Steam and Rail Workshop in The Shed Issue 77,
Jan/Feb 2018. Here's a short video of one of their trains in action
]]>Enjoy a train ride alongside the Oamaru harbour - photography, Derek GoldingReach for the Shelves: Stylish StepladderWoodworkProjectsThe ShedWed, 11 Apr 2018 00:17:49 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/4/8/reach-for-the-shelves-stylish-stepladder58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5acaaf0a352f53a44ff5b582Why use an aluminium stepladder when you can build one out of timber in
your shed. Bob Browning gets to it and shows us how. Make a stylish timber stepladderBy Bob Browning

The top shelf in my walk-in wardrobe is 2.3 metres above the floor and I need a small stepladder to access it. I used a small, aluminium stepladder for some time but decided to make one that was compatible with the furniture, from timber. The design was done by modifying the design of the aluminium stepladder for timber construction. My starting point was the tread depth which was 75 mm on the aluminium ladder. I wanted to make this deeper to make it easier to climb. I also wanted to increase the width of the sides which is, of course, related to the tread depth.

Greek architects determined several millennia ago that the most attractive proportions of a room were 8:5 or 1.6:1. I try to maintain this ratio when designing anything rectangular that I want to look well-proportioned and the top board complies with this.I used macrocarpa for this ladder as I usually do for projects of this type, largely because it is reasonably available locally but also for its qualities as a timber.

Small stepladders are now available which incorporate a safety handrail. Clearly, this is a good feature for those with unsteady balance. I chose not to incorporate this in my stepladder because it will be kept for use in my walk-in wardrobe, a small room where it is possible to rest a hand against the wall for balance.

Setting blade angles on saw

TimberI bought 100 x 25 mm rough-sawn timber for the treads and sides and dressed it on my thickness planer. The edges of the timber were damaged and the best width I could obtain was 92 mm. In the ladder, this would become the tread depth which required the width of the sides to be 80mm, which seemed reasonable.

The finished thickness of the timber for the treads, rails and top board was 22mm which I can usually get from 25 mm rough-sawn timber. I prefer this to the 18 mm dressed timber commercially available.

The longitudinal and transverse angles for the sides, with the stepladder open, I took straight from the aluminium ladder. I made the width of each tread similar to those of the aluminium ladder but increased the height of the whole stepladder a little to 870 mm. Allowing a thickness of 13 mm for each backboard, and 1 mm for the hinge, I came up with a top board (tread) consisting of two pieces each 370 mm x 115 mm. This gave a combined top board dimension of 370 mm wide x 231 mm deep, with the stepladder opened up for use. This top is somewhat larger than the top of the aluminium ladder but I decided that was an improvement.

Bob checks with sliding bevel

TreadsWith the ladder open and viewed from the side, the angle of each side is at 18° from the vertical; when viewed from the front (or rear), the sides taper outwards from top to bottom, each side at an angle of 4° from the vertical. The trenches in the sides are therefore a compound angle, and this makes them relatively difficult to make but not excessively so. I first made the treads, two pairs of different lengths. After selecting the top face on each piece, I planed the back edge to 18° from the vertical. The ends were cut 4° to the vertical to be parallel to the sides.

I ripped down the sides and edge-planed them to a finished width of 80 mm, then cut them to length and trenched them to take the treads (through housing joints). The cuts for the ends and trenches are compound cuts of 18° and 4° and were done on the sliding compound mitre saw.

The angle settings on my mitre saw are accurate enough for carpentry work but not sufficiently accurate for detailed work such as these treads. To improve accuracy, I cut a piece of MDF 150 mm x 350 mm and cut angles of 18° on one end and 4° on the other. I then used this to set the blade angles on the saw.

SidesI first cut all sides to length then raised the blade to make the trench cuts. Raising the blade on my saw has the effect that it will not cut right through at the set depth, so I find it necessary to place a packing piece against the fence to effectively move the fence outwards. I always pass this packer through the thickness planer to ensure the sides are parallel.

By making a series of overlapping cuts, I removed all material from the trench. But because the blade is tilted, the teeth are lower on one side than the other and the bottom of the trench is left relatively rough. The best tool to clean this up is a hand router plane, and I used mine to do so.

Before starting to glue up, I planned the gluing process and used blackboard chalk to mark where pieces go. Then I drilled the sides for fasteners to go through into the treads and glued the treads into the sides.

Stepladder dimensions

1: Chiselling off tread end

To protect the timber while the cramps held it, I cut tapered packers to place between the sides and the jaws of the sash cramps. I set a sliding bevel to the required angle to check that angles were correct after assembly. I use PVA glue and am careful to wash off any glue that has squeezed out, using water. This ensures it does not leave a long-term mark which would show after the timber had been finished.

The top of each tread when the ladder is assembled extends past the sides by 7 mm. This is because, while the sides slope back at 18°, the front of each tread is vertical. I chiselled off this part of the tread which jutted out, just at the corners, cutting them back at 45° in a single plane so that the interface between the side and the tread forms a single straight line.

Back boardsI next made the back boards, which have the top edge planed at 18° and gave them an overhang of 5 mm past each side. These provide lateral stability for the ladder, so I glued and screwed them to the sides, keeping the top surfaces flush with the top of the ladder sides.

Top boardThe two pieces for the top board were next. Traditionally, hinges are screwed to the back board, but in this case I elected to use a continuous hinge 300 mm long, and rebate it into the back edge of each top board piece. I used stopped rebates to match the length of the hinge. When it was closed, the hinge was 5 mm across so I routed rebates 2 mm deep in each piece of top board to leave a central gap of 1 mm when the stepladder was open for use.

The width of the rebates equated to the measurement of the hinge from its edge to the centre of the pin with the hinge closed; 14 mm for the hinge I used. I marked locations for screws in the top board, then drilled a hole 3 mm deep at each location to take a wooden plug to

cover the screw head. I drilled the screw holes and then screwed the top board to the two sets of sides, keeping the protruding part of the hinge hard against the back boards. To make plugs to cover the screw heads, I used a Veritas tapered plug cutter which produces tapered plugs which fit tightly into the receiving hole. A length of 6 mm sisal rope is the traditional stay between the front and back frames. Under the lower treads, I glued and screwed cleats which were drilled with a 6 mm hole to take the rope that is knotted behind each cleat.

Ladder closed shows hinged top boards

]]>Upping the Ante: How to make a hall table — By Stuart LeesThe ShedThu, 05 Apr 2018 23:51:59 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/3/27/upping-the-ante-how-to-make-a-hall-table-by-stuart-lees58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5abac311562fa7acbfe5bce4If you were an avid watcher of “reality” TV shows, your opinion of what was
possible with timber would be limited to basic, chunky pieces of furniture,
consisting of not much more than some slabs of timber quickly joined,
sanded and finished. The extra effort required to make a quality piece of furniture pays off in spades.

If you were an avid watcher of “reality” TV shows, your opinion of what was possible with timber would be limited to basic, chunky pieces of furniture, consisting of not much more than some slabs of timber quickly joined, sanded and finished. These then are presented as items of quality furniture that could command surprising prices in certain boutique stores.

The joinery methods used are rarely anything more than butt joints that are glued and screwed. Sanding is a quick once-over with a random orbital sander if you are lucky, or a belt sander if not, and the finish is splashing on some stain or varnish.

While this does produce one style of furniture, the same timber, with just a little more effort, care and finesse can create a quality piece that can become quite the talking point, as well as being very functional.

1: The raw material for the legs 2: Detail of the bottom of the legs with contrasting tip

For this project to make a hall table, I chose a slab of mahogany and some West Australian jarrah to be a contrasting highlight piece. While I had access to a bandsaw, jointer and thicknesser that allowed me to break down a larger slab of timber into correctly-sized pieces, you can get timber that is cut closer to the required dimensions to save some of the preliminary work.

I personally find it particularly rewarding being able to produce all the pieces that I want and it gives me the freedom to choose sizes that particularly suit the project, rather than accepting the dimensions of timber that are available. If I had to start over putting together a workshop, one of the very first machines I would get is a decent bandsaw. So much can be done with that one machine and some good blades.

Taking the first slab, I used some chalk to rough out where I would cut the various pieces—the legs, skirts, rails and the top of the table.

1: Clamping the front skirt together 2: The front skirt with the drawer cavity 3: The skirts and legs with mortices cut and floating tenons inserted, ready for assembly. 4: Dry fit of the frame

Cutting the legs In this case I started with a thick slab of timber a little longer than the legs I wanted to make. If you had some thinner stock, the legs could be cut from a long length—it doesn’t really matter in the end. The slab was ripped into four equal widths (there was a thin piece left over), then each piece flipped onto its side and run through the saw again. This ensured the stock for the legs was square.

Next, each leg was tapered on two adjoining faces, ensuring that the taper would be to the outside corner of the table. There are a number of ways you can achieve a taper, either on a tablesaw with a taper jig (a home-made one works just as well as any commercial version and only takes a few screws and a couple of pieces of wood), the bandsaw, a jointer or even a thicknesser with a jig can be used (and for the very keen and energetic, hand tools). For this project, I used a jointer technique to create the taper (effectively creating and exaggerating snipe in a controlled manner). It consists of making a number of passes of the leg over the jointer, initially starting at a point 200 mm from the end of the leg and making a first pass. The second pass is started 200 mm further on and this is repeated a couple of more times. The final passes are the entire length of the newly created taper, cleaning up all the snipe marks from the start of each cut. It is a surprisingly easy technique and the results are a lot more consistent than you would logically expect.

1: Clamping up the table frame 2: Components for the drawer cut and sized

I did experience some tearout at the bottom of the legs—either a blunt blade, or the timber had a tendency to chip which left a rather unsightly problem. However, in woodworking there are not so much problems as opportunities you have yet to discover. The solution was to cut the ends off the legs and join a contrasting piece of timber on the bottom to create an interesting detail. It’s something I wouldn’t have thought of doing if the tearout hadn’t happened and it adds additional styling to the legs. They were attached with glue and a floating tenon to add strength. I used the Festool Domino for this job, but a small biscuit or dowel would have worked just as well.

1: Using the Gifkins jig to cut dovetails for the drawer 2: Dry fitting the drawer components

Structural unit The skirt around the edge is also the main structural unit for the table. I wanted a drawer in the table, so I ripped a strip of timber from the top and bottom of the front skirt, then the opening was cut out. The four remaining pieces were then reassembled with dominos (again biscuits would have also worked) and all glued together. With a clean cut on the tablesaw, the joints were virtually indistinguishable in the final product. The glue used in this case is a polyurethane glue. It is unusual in that it requires the parts being glued to be dampened on the contact surfaces and it foams out of the joint as it goes off. It is the same as space filler, except that the application does not involve deliberately aerating the product.

As a glue, it is very strong indeed, is waterproof (so perfect for outdoor applications) and, surprise surprise, is great at filling gaps. Once the glue was set, the clamps were removed and the excess glue scraped off. The skirt was made oversized, so the ends could be docked, leaving a front with a neat, square hole. You can cut the hole in other ways, but in this case I wanted to preserve the piece that was being removed for the drawer front. This way, when the drawer is closed, the grain and colouring will be continuous across the table front.

1: Testing the drawer front for fit. It has not had any finish applied, which is why it doesnt match 2: A side view of the drawer dry-fit — the drawer front creates a surrogate half blind dovetail 3: Polishing the rails using a Swansdown mop and wax 4: Getting the curve ready using the contour jig

With the front skirt ready, it was time to assemble the body of the table. Floating tenons were placed in each skirt end and matching mortises cut in the tops of the legs. The whole assembly was dry fitted to ensure everything was right and then glued and clamped together. Again, the Festool Domino makes short work of cutting accurately located mortises for the floating tenons.

The drawer is a simple affair—a couple of rails inside the carcass of the table for the drawer to rest on and the drawer itself is a simple dovetail box with a base. Using the Gifkins dovetail jig made for short work of the drawer and the piece originally cut out of the front of the skirt is then attached to the front of the drawer, so it blends in.

Dry fit of the resulting top

Mahogany top With the body of the table assembled, it was time to move onto the top. A piece of mahogany was docked in half, then the two pieces brought together in various configurations until the grain patterns matched in the most aesthetic way. There is more than one way to prepare two surfaces for gluing. One is to use a jointer and each piece has the gluing edge planed at and straight. This is pretty common, but if you don’t have a jointer (or a jointer plane), then one of the other methods needs to be employed. One that is particularly interesting is to use a circular saw that has a rail and a glue-line rip blade. The glue-line blade is particularly designed to produce a very smooth cut, so that the resulting surface is immediately ready for gluing without any further preparation. By using a rail, the blade can be set to run down the joint between both boards, so both surfaces are cut exactly the same, ready for glue and clamping.

The clamps used in this case are the Australian-made Frontline panel clamps, which can apply significant pressure to bring the boards together, but they also apply a proportion of that pressure vertically, ensuring the boards remain at across during clamping.

The top being rejoined with the jarrah river inserted and ready to be clamped up

Jarrah detail However that was only the start for this top—I had a plan to pick up the jarrah detail used on the leg tips and create a jarrah river through the top as well. Taking the newly-made top, it was split apart on the bandsaw in an artistic curve. A piece of jarrah was sized to the same thickness as the top, then matching curves were cut to produce a solid insert. The Frontline contour jig was used on the bandsaw which allowed these cuts to be made accurately. It could have also been done with a template and router. The pieces were dry fitted together, then transferred across to another set of the powerful Frontline clamps for the glue-up.

The table assembly complete, ready for sanding and scraping, then finishing

After cutting the jarrah for the top, it became obvious how I wanted to make the lower shelf to support the legs. I decided to have curvy rails rather than a traditional shelf or straight rails. The same curve was used from the top for two rails. These were then set opposite (and flipped) one from the other to create a more dynamic, non-linear result. Fortunately I had the jig to cut the curves, as during the first glue-up of the bottom rails I was just too enthusiastic with the clamp and the rails exploded into shrapnel. I didn’t make the same mistake twice.

With the components finished, sanded and scraped smooth I applied a Tung oil finish to really show off the beautiful timbers.

A “simple” hall table. As (not) seen on TV.

Detail of top with the finish applied

]]>Golden Bay, Living Wood Fair, Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd April 2018The ShedTue, 27 Mar 2018 22:51:44 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/3/27/golden-bay-living-wood-fair-saturday-21st-and-sunday-22nd-april-201858ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5abac8891ae6cf781439a6a7What is the Living Wood Fair?
The Living Wood Fair is an enjoyable, engaging, educational community event
for all ages taking place in Golden Bay this April.

What is the Living Wood Fair?The Living Wood Fair is an enjoyable, engaging, educational community event for all ages taking place in Golden Bay this April.There is a variety of inspiring activities on offer including workshops, talks, discussions, demonstrations and exhibits focused on four main wood related categories:All aspects of growing trees and turning them into timber;Environmental sustainability, care and protection;Creative arts, wood and bush crafts; andNatural shelters and homes.Encircled by a beautiful cornucopia of trees there are 4 main areas in the fair:The main arena hosts the demonstrations, displays, kids’ activities, information hub, market, food stalls, and natural building area.The workshop zone is hosting indoor and outdoor creative workshops.The Ministry of Primary Industries Talk Zone will hold inspiring and informative talks.The final zone is in the historic Fairholme Gallery displaying tree themed artistic creations.Who is the Living Wood Fair for?The Living Wood Fair will appeal to anyone who likes wood, including lifestyle and forestry block owners, farmers, woodworkers and millers, self-builders and tiny home enthusiasts, forestry advocates, environmentalists, and business and industry specialists.The Living Wood Fair is not only a fun day out for families but a place to learn new skills, to network with individuals and companies in these fields, to discuss environmental challenges and find solutions, to get informed from the experts and to purchase among other things timber, furniture, handmade arts and crafts, and tools.

Programme detailsTalksWe have a great line-up of speakers including botanist Philip Simpson, local gardening guru Sol Morgan, specialists from the MPIs Sustainable Forest Management team and Afforestation, Steve Henry from the Living Building Challenge, Wayne and Tyler Langford from the Federated Farmers, Glenn Page teaching chainsaw maintenance and more.WorkshopsRenford Crump facilitates an ongoing bush crafts kids program, herbalist John Massey will share his knowledge on healing & edible plants, Rekindle from Christchurch is teaching string making, Henry Dixon teaches wooden spoon carving, an introduction to the ancient art of hedge laying by Isaac Lane, basic skills for earth building will be facilitated by Lucy Dixon, and much more. Schedule details will be posted in the Facebook event 3 weeks prior to the Living Wood Fair.Forestry ForumWe are dedicating 2 hours each day to a public forum where we will encourage a variety of experts, forestry businesses and the general public to have an open discussion about forestry in New Zealand, how to ‘future proof’ forestry with changing environmental challenges and how to increase diversity in land use. Damien O’Connor MP, the Forest Owners Association, MPIs Sustainable Forest Management Team and Sean Weaver from EKOS are part of the panel.Ticket information & workshop bookingsDay tickets to Living Wood Fair are $15, kids under 16yrs are free and 2hr long workshops cost $25 per adult or $35 for 1 adult and a child. Bookings either on our Facebook event page, via e-mail or on the day at the info stall.

Golden Bay, Living Wood Fair, Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd April 2018Getting Real: TaxidermistOtherThe ShedTue, 20 Mar 2018 22:24:28 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/2/19/getting-real-taxidermist58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5a8b79c5e2c4831ac9b5d820As a six year-old John Ward of Taranaki saw a pheasant mounted on display
in a Stratford sports shop window and he desperately wanted it or one like
it. “I would have done anything to get that pheasant,” he said. A lifelong passion for taxidermy has led to a world-class collection and a dedicated museum

Part of the huge collection at Manutahi Museum

As a six year-old John Ward of Taranaki saw a pheasant mounted on display in a Stratford sports shop window and he desperately wanted it or one like it. “I would have done anything to get that pheasant,” he said.

He didn’t muck around. He taught himself the art of taxidermy with the help of a few books and aged eight he mounted his first bird—a pukeko. From there he would pick through his father’s mates’ duck shooting catches and select the best for mounting. Aged nine he mounted his first animal, a ferret, and at 10 a peacock. As a teenager he polished his skills, working on ducks, rabbits, possums and the odd lamb. His biggest task was mounting an emu. John mainly specialises in birds.

World class Manutahi Museum, set up six months ago, and taxidermy are an absolute passion for John and his collection is astounding. It’s world class. Five years ago John and his wife Lynda purchased two hectares near New Plymouth that included a big shed that once was used to make kitchen units.

“It’s perfect for the collection, but as the number of exhibits grow it would be good to expand,” says John. He worked in the oil industry for years but now, aged 55, he’s doing what he loves most, setting up and running the museum. Lynda does the admin side and is right behind John, although there was a time when he worked on the kitchen table and they had to eat off their laps while birds in various stages of metamorphosis lay on the table. “That was a bit strange but he’s got a bench in the shed now,” Lynda says.

The three-metre high polar bear from Canada that greets visitors to the museum.

Ferocious exhibits On entering the big shed one is greeted by a ferocious, looming three-metre- high polar bear, standing on its hind legs, with a full-size lion and lioness calmly sitting behind it. From there on there are almost too many exhibits in the museum to take in. John’s enthusiastically very much at home—these are his babies. “What I’m doing is preserving the past, especially for coming generations. I won’t mount native birds and I won’t kill anything to mount.

“People bring me creatures to mount that have been killed by cars. I’m a meat hunter and hunt for the freezer.” John has spent many years hunting and still takes his kids and their mates Samba deer hunting at the back and beyond of Whanganui.

“I’ve been raised and spent my whole life living on deer, pig, goat and rabbit meat.” John is actually fond of animals. He spent time as a dairy farmer but left because he didn’t like taking the bobby calves from their mothers and killing them. “I don’t glorify killing animals. Most creatures I mount have been killed accidentally or have died. I’ve lost count of the number of exhibits I have. The collection is an absolute passion—I’m totally addicted to it."

John Ward — the man behind the Taranaki taxidermy museum

1: A golden gibbon 2: An African black-backed Jackal 3: An African lion, one of two that died at a Japanese wildlife park.

Safari hunters The collection is extremely diverse and a good chunk of it came from two old- time safari hunters, who hunted all over the world, bequeathing their mounted collections to John when they died. These guys, Jack Price of Thames and Max Motley of Havelock North, had extensive collections they wanted to go to a good home and put on display. “Max was a master of hunting and taxidermy. He left me two big truckloads of animals shot in Africa, Canada, America and all round the world.

“A lot of people these days are not into having animal heads hanging on their walls—it’s not so fashionable and a hell of a lot of mounted specimens end up thrown into the dump. It’s a shame. Some I have brought from Trademe.” He points to a mounted, two metre- long fresh water Johnson crocodile, which was stored for years under an elderly woman’s bed in Tauranga after her husband died. Driving back to Taranaki he stopped for petrol, with the croc lying on the attened front seat through to the boot. “I told the young girl working the petrol pump not to pat my pet and got a great reaction,” he says with a grin.

The magnificent polar bear was purchased by John as a salt-cured hide and head from Inuit people in Canada 20 years ago. He imported it and had it mounted by a fellow taxidermist. It’s even been seen in Christmas parades.

A selection of Australian parrots and birds.

1: Major Mitchell cockatoos from Australia 2: A snowy call duck.

Massive collection There are many thousands of exhibits. The two lions died naturally at a wildlife park in Japan. They were mounted and displayed in a car yard window for a while before John found them. Full-sized animals include two timber wolves from Canada, a zebra, a black bear from Canada, a range of foxes, including a white Arctic fox, a cheetah, an armadillo, a collection of monkeys, a wallaby, wild dogs including a jackal, a wolverine, coyotes, a range of snakes, including dancing cobras and a python, various lizards and iguanas and many, many other creatures.

Mounted heads include a black rhino and a white rhino, a yak, several moose, thar, bison, elk, caribou and various buffalo from around the world. The bird collection is staggering. An Australian section includes many parrots and even a wedge-tailed eagle. There are birds from all over the world including a collection of owls. The last two Egyptian geese found in New Zealand are on display after spending 15 years in a freezer. The bird life ranges from a complete emu to tiny birds.

Anyone into hunting will be interested in the collection, which includes a vast array of prize- winning antlers, including the biggest samba head found in New Zealand. John has picked up many trophy heads and antlers— elk, moose, caribou and even massive Texas longhorn exhibits hang on the wall. There’s also a collection of insects from around the world and a row of skulls, including a leopard, a grizzly bear, a baboon and a lion; and strange objects like giant shells.

A full-size zebra

Work in progress John has by no means finished building up the museum. He would like to build a river scene and include a giant salt water crocodile. He also wants to write a book on the collection and the stories behind many of the exhibits. He says anyone wanting to get rid of mounted specimens should contact him before throwing them out. Tour parties and visitors are welcome at the museum and John and Lynda can be contacted at taxidermy@slingshot.co.nz.

Taxidermy HistoryThe word taxidermy originates from the Greek words taxis (arrangement) and derma (skin). Preserving animal skins goes back to the dawn of time and although the ancient Egyptians embalmed animals to place with the mummies in tombs, the art of taxidermy didn’t really begin until the mid 1700s.

By the 18th century, almost every town in England had a tannery business. In the 19th century, hunters began bringing their trophies to upholstery shops, where the upholsterers would actually sew up the animal skins and stuff them with rags and cotton. The term “stuffing” or a “stuffed animal” evolved from this crude form of taxidermy. It reached a peak in Victorian times, when exploring and safari hunting was the rage and mounted heads on the walls and posed animals were very popular in homes. Displays of birds were particularly common in middle-class Victorian homes—even Queen Victoria amassed an impressive bird collection. Taxidermists were also increasingly used by the bereaved owners of dead pets to “resurrect” them. There has been a resurgence of this today.

An arctic wolf, a timber wolf, a coyote and a black bear amongst others on display.

The processThere are two methods of taxidermy—the traditional method and freeze drying. John mounts his specimens the traditional way. Taxidermy specimens can be saved for later use by freezing. The taxidermist then removes the skin to be tanned and treated at a later date. Numerous measurements are then taken of the remaining body. A traditional method that remains popular today involves retaining the original skull and leg bones of a specimen and using these asthe basis to create a mannequin made primarily from wood wool (previously tow or hemp wool was used) and galvanised wire. Another method is to mould the carcass in plaster and then make a copy of the animal using one of several methods. A nal mould is then made of polyester resin and glass cloth from which a polyurethane form is made for nal production. The carcassis then removed and the mould is used to produce a cast of the animal called a “form”.Forms can also be made by sculpting the animal first in clay. Many companies produce stock forms in various sizes.

John uses forms, either purchased or shaped by himself from polystyrene. “Some forms have the legs attached but sometimes you use the original bones and bind them with cotton and use plaster or epoxies,” John explains. “The hide is soaked in oil to stop it drying out. You then apply (taxi) the hide to the form, which has been covered with hide paste. I sew up the hide with string thread—usually a waxed cotton used for saddles. I then blow dry the fur to make it look realistic.”Glass eyes are then usually added to the display and, in some cases, arti cial teeth, jaws, tongues or, for some birds, articial beaks and legs can be used.

Freeze drying An increasingly popular trend is to freeze dry the animal. This can 3 be done with reptiles, birds and small mammals such as cats, large mice and some types of dogs. Freeze drying is expensive and time consuming. Large specimens can be required to spend as long as six months in the freeze dryer, although it is the preferred technique for pets. John said you first remove the stomach, insect-proof the specimen, put wires down the legs and put it on a base.It is frozen solid then put into the freeze dry machine, which keeps it frozen but sucks the moisture out of it, preventing it from decaying. He said you must ensure specimensare kept out of direct sunlight or they will fade and must be careful insects such as moths do not ruin the skin.

Mounting a rooster Once the rooster has been prepared, the mounting process begins: 1. Padding the legs with wool and wrapping them. 2. Threading wire through the wings to keep them stable.3. Binding cotton onto the wings and building up the legs with ller to replace muscle. 4. Fitting a polystyrene body form into the skin. 5. Filling (“taxiing”) the skin over the form. 6. Inserting cotton to enhance the shape of the bird before stitching. 7. Stitching up. 8. Getting the final shape of the bird right. 9. Blow drying the bird to get the plumage looking good. 10. The final product.

By Ray Cleaver, Photos by Rob Tucker

]]>Cutting Edge: How to make a Damascus steel knifeMetalworkProjectsThe ShedTue, 13 Mar 2018 22:13:26 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/3/6/cutting-edge-how-to-make-a-damascus-steel-knife58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5a9f1c460d9297a004550bf6Matt James' early passion for knives began when his father Alan handed him
a book titled Step-by-Step Knife Making: You Can Do It! by David Boye. Now
Matt shows you how you can do it too, how to make a Damascus Knife.By Shane Minnear

Welding the billet

I make knives for a hobby. I didn’t always have a love of knives…before knives it was The Six Million Dollar Man and Silly Putty. You can deduce I was born in 1970. My early passion for knives began when my father Alan handed me a book titled Step-by-Step Knife Making: You Can Do It! by David Boye. There was something about this book that took my complete attention and fascination. It was easy to read, had great photos and illustrations and made it seem achievable to make a knife. Dad was at the time an engineering teacher at Geraldine High School and had taken his senior students through the process of making a knife.

I was 20 years old and I decided to make my first knife from an old slasher blade I’d been given. I used a bench grinder to reshape the blade, then I soldered on a steel bolster and glued on a wooden handle. I made a sheath from deer skin and was as proud as punch. My second knife was done in much the same way, except I shaped the blade using a draw-file method to form a bowie knife. I used six pins on the handle, made a sheath and presented this to my brother-in-law as a birthday gift. Twenty something years later and that knife is still the main cutting tool in his kitchen.

Around nine years ago I wanted to make my son a knife. Finding an old file, I mounted a belt sander upside down in a vice and spent hours slowly grinding a bevel into the hardened steel. I was limited to the belts I could fit to the sander so I took my time, then used a buffing machine to get a reasonable finish on the blade. I added a handle and was done.

Applying the borax flux

1: The fluxed billet 2: A flattening and drawing die 3: A billet in the press

Four tools and a furnaceA Grinder: At this time I was an active member of various online knife-making forums. Full of knowledgeable and time-generous knife makers, these forums lit me up like nothing before. It also made me realise that I needed a better belt grinder. I settled on building a replica of the wonderful KMG made by Beaumont Metal Works in America.

I could not afford to purchase and import one of these so I spent considerable time researching the grinder and scaling up plans based on photos. I had a local engineer cut out the steel plate for the parts and travelled to Geraldine so that my Dad and I could put it together. Two full days later and it was done, complete with interchangeable tool arms and a three-speed, step-pulley 1HP motor. I couldn’t believe the difference having a grinder like this made to my knife making. The grinder was fast, accurate and gave me a wide variety of belts to use. I added a large contact wheel and a small wheel attachment and this grinder has become the core tool in my workshop.

Pressing the knife billet

A book and an anvil: While planning my grinder build, I also purchased several books. One of these got me wanting to forge blades—Wayne Goddard’s $50 Knife Shop. In this book, he showed that not a large investment in tools was needed to make and forge knives. I purchased a second-hand anvil and, following the advice in this book, made a one-brick forge that was heated with a venturi burner powered by a barbecue LPG bottle. Despite the simplicity of this design, the forge could heat steel sufficiently so that I could give it a manly bash on my anvil. Spurred on by my growing confidence, one of the first things I put in this forge was one-inch (25.4 mm) wire rope. Not realising how difficult it can be to forge wire rope, I nevertheless had a go and, low and behold I actually succeeded in producing a solid steel blade from it. I quenched the heated blade, gave it a temper and finally an etch. I could see individual strands of wire throughout my first forged Damascus blade. How pleased was I!

A press and a forge: While chatting on a forum in 2007, I met a chap who lived just 30 minutes away. We met up a few times and talked knives and equipment. He had built a wonderful little forge that could get to welding heat (800°C+) and had an impressive 24-tonne hydraulic press build underway. Two years later, my friend announced he was moving to Australia and he’d be pleased for me to have first purchase option on his tools. This was a huge blessing as I purchased numerous hand tools, his forge, a MIG welder and his unfinished hydraulic press which came with brand new but as yet unfitted 8 x 5 inch (203 x 127 mm) ram, pump and control. Completing and commissioning this press became a priority so I worked steadily to build or buy the necessary components. Finally I was ready to fire it up and I asked my friend to come and help. He was leaving for Australia the next week so he was thrilled to witness his press start up for the first time.

But I had a problem. While fabricating parts for the press, I’d used excessive heat to weld a fitting on to the 25 mm-thick steel press plate. It meant the plate had wildly banana’d and I didn’t know how to straighten it. My friend and I had a think and I suggested we invert the plate, place it under the ram and press down to see if it would straighten up. My friend was sceptical but we had a go. We started up the press and moved the ram slowly down onto the upwardly curving steel. You should have seen my friend’s eyes widen as we both watched the ram effortlessly push the steel straight. He was seriously shocked to see the power of this press. In his gruffest voice (he was a few years senior to me) he warned me to be careful with this machine.

1: Shaping the knife 2: Shaping the bolster

I’ve heeded his words ever since. The press has greatly enabled me to make Damascus blades, making it easier to get the multiple layers pressed together and drawn out in length. Over the next few years, DIY tasks took priority around our home as we set up a hostel, converting a monastery we had purchased into long-term accommodation. I worked long weekends and week nights fixing it up, along with help from my wife and growing children. I managed just a little knife making between the DIY, full-time work and family life.

Within the past year I’ve put more focus on making knives, making Damascus steel using L6 steel from recycled sawmill blades blended with O1 tool steel. These two steels provide wonderful contrast…the L6 containing more chromium than O1, thus the layers are distinguished from one another.

Integral all the wayI’ve been forging blades that incorporate an integral bolster. This is technically quite challenging to do but I have found a way that gives good results every time. The forged bolster has a few advantages. It has no join between blade and bolster which removes the opportunity for material to get trapped. It offers a smooth transition for the thumb and finger to rest on. It also highlights the steel layers as they ebb and flow up onto the bolster and through in to the full tang…this is a beautiful effect and can be quite startling.

I love to make kitchen knives. This is because a kitchen knife is an everyday knife…I get to use them frequently, see them displayed on our magnetic wall holder and learn to refine and modify designs. I see how they function for specific tasks and can make different shapes and sizes accordingly. My wife Jade is my strongest critic and my staunchest ally. This makes me a better knife maker as I hear her honest feedback and make adjustments to the design, fit and finish.

The freshly hardened blank

1: Tempering in the oven 2: Preparing to temper the knife

Stabilised timberI’ve chosen to mostly use New Zealand native timber for my handles, although I also use jarrah and other exotic timbers that make wonderful handle material. I stabilise each piece using a vacuum process that impregnates a heat-activated resin deep inside the timber. Once stabilising is complete, a piece of timber gains 30-50 percent in weight. It looks and feels like timber but will now have eliminated much of the movement, cracking and distortion potential that timber can suffer from.

1: The stabilising set up: tank and vacuum pump. Note the weights to hold the timber 2: The vacuum at work. Note the amount of air drawn from the timber 3: The impregnated timber wrapped in foil for curing 4: Oven curing

Hammer-insKnife makers are great people and I’ve met makers both online and around the country. I have met up with a couple of Wellington blokes to have forging days and this is a fantastic way to learn and share ideas. John Taylor (Alchemy Knives) makes nice drop-point hunters while Casey McNeil forged a lovely feather Damascus blade at one of our hammer-ins. I enjoy keeping in touch with the community and interacting with fellow knife enthusiasts.

While selling a selection of knives at recent markets, I’ve been amazed and thrilled at the response they receive. Many people stop and look…not everyone is a buyer but by and large most people appreciate the beauty of Damascus blades and native timber handles. People understand the effort and soul that goes into a handmade knife (or any handmade craft for that matter) and appreciate the result. People have told me that one of my knives would become an heirloom piece in their home; others said they wanted to treat themselves to a really nice knife. Still others wanted a knife like this to show their friends and many people wonder how the pattern in the blade has been achieved. When told that these blades had 162 layers they were surprised to say the least.I have set up http://stabilizedwood. co.nz and “facebook/stabilized wood” to market my knives and sell stabilised timber to knife makers, pen turners, hobbyists, jewellers and anyone else. I also offer a stabilising service for those who want to supply me with their timber.

Checking the fit of the scales and bolster

1: The knife handle epoxied in place 2: Shaping the handle

How to make a forged, integral-bolster kitchen knifePrepare nine equal pieces of steel: 4 of O1 and 5 of L6. Each piece is 150 mm x 25 mm x 10 mm. Alternate the stacking of the O1 and L6, then MIG weld them together. Attach a steel handle (I use concrete rebar) and place the billet into the forge. When the billet begins to show colour remove it from the forge and apply anhydrous borax to the steel (flux which helps the steel weld and drives out impurities). Return the billet to the forge and heat it until it is at welding heat (around 900°C).

I take the billet from the forge and press it in the hydraulic press then return the billet to the forge. I continue to heat and press the billet until it is welded solid and then begin to draw it out in length. When the billet is about 240 mm in length, I cut it into three pieces with a cut-off saw and stack then tack weld them together. I take care not to burn myself while I’m handling the hot steel. The billet is now 27 layers. Returning to the forge, I dust the billet with flux and, when welding heat is achieved, I press it again. I repeat the above process until once again the billet is 240 mm in length then cut it into three pieces again, tack weld them then return the billet to the forge. The billet is now 81 layers. With successive heating, I draw out the billet until it is 240 mm in length, cut it in two, stack, tack weld and return it to the forge. The billet is now 162 layers. After more forge welding, the steel is drawn out again. When it is 240 mm in length, I use a die consisting of ball bearings welded to a press plate to indent both sides. This disrupts the layers and forms a “pool and eye” effect in the steel.

I return the billet to the forge and press out the indents, then forge it to 300 mm in length. Removing the steel from the forge, I cut the blank into knife-size pieces…something like 60 mm x 35 mm x 15 mm. I weld a handle to it and return this small billet to the forge to begin shaping it into a knife. First I draw out a rectangle then use the press with reversed flattening dies to form a handle shape.

More forging and shaping on the press follow to shape the blade, the bolster and the tang. When the blade shape is almost achieved, I use a hammer and anvil to apply final shaping of the knife tip, bolster, finger guard and tang. When forging is complete, the hot blade is placed in vermiculite to slowly cool and thus anneal the steel.

I can now profile grind the blade using a 36-50 grit belt. I grind all the sides equally and drill rivet holes in the tang. I return the profiled blade to the forge, heat it to critical temperature (the point when the steel becomes non-magnetic) and quickly quench it in oil, holding it still in the quench until all the colour has disappeared from the blade. I then place the hardened blade in an oven to temper it for two hours at 220-230°C.

I begin grinding the blade using 50 grit and work all the way up to 600 grit, forming the main bevel, refining the shape and cleaning up the bolster. When complete I cover the blade with card to protect it during the next phase.

I prepare the stabilised timber handles by placing the chosen timber in a vacuum chamber, covering it with resin and begin the vacuum process. Air is pulled out of the timber, creating thousands of bubbles. After a few hours the bubbles should have ceased. I release the vacuum which draws the resin deep into the timber. It remains immersed in the resin overnight. I remove the timber from the vacuum chamber, wrap it in foil and bake it for two hours at 100°C. When cool, the timber is cut down the centre to create book-end handle slabs and test fitted to the tang and bolster.

I sketch the shape of the handle and cut it on the bandsaw. Minor adjustments are made to the timber to create a tight fit against the tang and bolster. Next step is to drill rivet holes into both pieces of timber using the previously cut tang holes as a guide. I then cut two stainless steel pins for the handle, epoxy the timber slabs onto the tang and insert the pins. I clamp the handle and leave it overnight to set. I use a 50-grit belt on the grinder to shape the handle, taking care to blend the timber with the bolster. I then work through the grits up to 600. The finished blade and handle should be smooth to the touch.

Showing the wire edge

To expose the Damascus pattern, it’s necessary to etch the blade. It’s important to wrap the handle with tape as the etchant can mark or stain the timber. Wash the blade with soapy water to remove all oily residue and place the blade tip-down in the etch liquid (ferric-chloride) and hold it for a few minutes. The pattern will start to emerge. Remove the knife, scrub the blade with steel wool to remove any black oxide, then return it to the etch liquid until the desired contrast level is achieved.

Finally, wash the etched blade in baking soda to neutralise the acid etch, then rub down the entire blade with a soft, oiled cloth. I use olive oil. I engrave my surname onto the right side of the blade. Finally I sharpen the blade using a 600-grit belt on the grinder to gain a foil edge, then leather strop the blade to a hair-shaving finish.

Examples of knives that Shane has made

Knife-making steelKnife makers often prefer high-carbon steels because they can be sharpened to a very fine edge and they will hold that edge. They can be differentially tempered too so more or less temper can be applied to the blade edge and the spine of cheeks to achieve flexibility and a harder, more brittle edge. However most tool steels have some alloy in them to impart various desirable characteristics.

Manganese and silicon are added during the steel-making process to remove sulphur, oxygen and phosphorus from the molten mix. Manganese, nickel, silicon chromium, vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten increase strength. Molybdenum also helps the steel from becoming too brittle. Manganese improves the workability of the steel. Chromium helps the steel resist corrosion but can weaken it so it is usually included with nickel which also helps resist corrosion but imparts some strength and improves hardenability.

1095 and 5160 are commonly used in hand-forged knives because they are inexpensive, forgiving to work with and readily hand-forged. They are both standard carbon steels and both make a dependable, useable knife. 1095 gets its performance from the high carbon content. It's commonly used industrially to make farm implements such as scraper blades, discs, harrows and excavator shovels. 1095 is a readily available and common steel.

5160 has much less carbon, but derives its good wear characteristics from the addition of a small amount of chromium. This minor percentage of chromium improves hardenability and wear resistance, but it is not enough to improve corrosion resistance. This steel is used industrially where a very hard and wear-resistant surface is required, such as gears, pinions, crankshafts and bearing surfaces. It is also used for leaf springs which are a common source of knife-making steel. Both these steels are relatively easy to work and harden.

O1 is a true tool steel; an alloy steel designed to be used to make tools. As such it derives its performance from the variety and effect of the alloys in the mix. It has a high carbon content for hardness but the manganese content improves its performance in the forge. The chromium content adds hardenability and wear resistance. The addition of vanadium and tungsten form incredibly hard-wear-resistant particles of vanadium carbide and tungsten carbide. It’s commonly used to make drills. O1 steel can be differentially tempered and it will take and hold an edge well.

L6 is similar to O1 in the general class of alloy, oil-hardening tool steels. Due to its lower carbon content, it has better shock resistance than the more highly alloyed types due to the relatively high nickel content. L6 steel is often considered to be one of the best steels available for knife making and is also often used to make saw blades. Knives made from L6 steel are not corrosion resistant.

The completed knife

By Shane MinnearPhotos by Jude Woodside

The making of pattern Damascus

The process of making what is commonly known as damascus steel has, in some ways, been a little shrouded in mystery. If you try to make damascus remember it is a process. You may not have instant success but look at what you are doing and try to evaluate what you may change in order to “get it right.”

1: Heating the billet 2: Wire the layers together

HistoryTrue Damascus steel or wootz was made in a crucible and cast into ingots and then forged. Examples of bladeware made from this steel date back to 600 AD. The Vikings, although not the first, did make some very complex bladeware us-ing twisted bars of damascus. Later in Europe and England during the 18th and 19th centuries there was a tradition of using damascus in the barrels of fine shotguns. Today, damascus is used mainly for knives but has other applications in jewellery and art forms.

In spite of being made as one homogeneous mass, this steel displays the patterning which results from making pattern welded steel (PWS, commonly called damascus steel). Pattern welded steel is made by stacking at least two types or more of steel in alternating layers to form what is termed a billet. These layers are then forge-welded into one mass, a bar of steel where the layers still retain their individual characteristics.The end-use determines the steel mix in the billet. Apart from considering the steel types available, you need to consider what characteristics you want in the finished damascus.

For a knifemaker, the ability of the steel to hold an edge is important. If flexibility is required then perhaps using mild steel in the mix would assist in this (not in knives). For decorative purposes only, for example jewellery, the maker can simply look at what will produce the best contrast. Yes, steel has colour and different steels will show contrast when etched and put beside each other.

Weld with hammer blows

TypesIn types of damascus patterns, some of the steel is white or bright, some has shades of gray and some is black. The brightness is caused by a certain chrome or nickel content in the steel, the black by carbon. The steel mix and its elements will govern the final appearance. One mix I have made is 1075 and pure nickel. This is a very high-contrast mix, as the nickel is very bright and the steel quite black.

Apart from contrast, the final look is governed by the pattern we introduce. This is affected by the number of layers in the bar and what type of manipulation is done to the steel while you are forging it. One of the simplest forms of pattern is created by twisting the bar.

The subject of pattern creation is very wide-ranging and modern-day smiths have pushed the boundaries in this area. Some of the patterns you will see here have been made longitudinally in the bar and some in a loaf-type form where the steel has then been cut off as tiles.

Forge weld half done

EquipmentBefore we light the forge, let’s look at the four methods you can use to move metal “in the shed” (the non-industrial, kiwi nutcase situation):1. Hand hammer and anvil;2. Power press;3. Power hammer;4. Rolling mill.The hammer and anvil is what most people probably relate to when they think about forging. Hand-forging gives probably the best control for smaller work when in the hands of a skilled person. There is a lot of drawing out (extending of the steel) to make a damascus bar and for bars with a low layer-count, hand-hammering is probably OK. Using a press is a very practical way to make damascus although not the fastest. A press of 20 to 30-tonne capacity will normally suffice. I have made a press specifically for damascus, although a standard H-frame press can be used. The steel can be drawn out using ﬂat or drawing dies and taking “bites” at the billet. The bite size is deter-mined by the power of the press. A lower-powered press will suffice, it will just take longer to do the job. The power hammer I have was imported as one of three used by the New Zealand Railways department. It can be a bit of a job setting up a power hammer and if you do come across one, it would pay to research how to do it correctly. I use both the power hammer and the press for my work. While the press tends to suck the heat out of the work rather quickly, the power hammer has the tendency to prolong the heat as a result of the hammering action.

There are plans available for rolling mills (check the internet). I don’t use one but I think they are a very practical way to make damascus – you could probably do it a few feet away from your neighbour’s win-dow on a Sunday morning.

Steel under power hammer

ForgesOnce you’ve figured out how you are going to beat the metal, you just have to soften it enough to do so. I use two types of forge, both fuelled by propane gas. One type is venturi. This means the gas is piped into the forge and in doing so sucks in sufficient air to make the air/gas mix to create the flame. The second type is a blown forge. The air is blown into the forge using a squirrel-cage blower and the gas is mixed with it before entry into the forge. Each type has its pros and cons and again you will find plans on the net for both.

BilletCut the steel to size. The steel pieces should be as close to the same size as possible. I generally make billets with the same type of steel on the outside of the billet which means they have an odd number of layers in them. This does not have to be the case – it’s up to you. Stack your layers alternately on top of one another. The layers should be clean of rust, scale etc. The layers should then be welded together on the ends using say an arc or MIG welder (I would not recommend gas welding). This is just to hold them until the first forge welding is done. If you do not have weld-ing capability, then the layers can simply be wired together.

Then add the handle (you do need to weld this). I am not good at using tongs so I prefer to attach a handle. The size of the handle depends on the size or weight of the billet. If the handle is too small in diameter, the billet will hang from the end like a piece of spaghetti when you pull it out of the forge. The handle needs enough substance to keep rigid when hot. Then wire up the billet as in the photo.

Billet being folded

Forge weldingThe forge needs time to heat up so don’t try to put your billet into a forge too soon. The billet will re-quire a certain “soaking” time, de-pending on a number of factors, to get it all up to heat. If your billet is large in relation to your forge, it will take longer. You are looking to achieve a yellow heat – 1300+ degrees. If the billet starts shower-ing sparks, then it is too hot. I use borax as a flux on the billet to stop oxygen from creating scale and in terfering with the welding process. Borax should be liberally applied to the billet throughout the process. When the billet is up to temperature, quickly remove it from the forge and weld with overlapping hammer blows on the anvil from the far end to the wired up section. Remove the wire with side cutters and repeat the process for the other end of the billet after reheating it. You only have about 6-8 seconds to complete the forge-weld. After that, the billet has cooled below forge-welding temperature.

Try not to cover too much area in the forge-welding process; rather make sure the area you cover is done well. The borax tends to ﬂy everywhere so good protective gear is a must and it pays not to have your girlfriend standing next to you in a clean dress. No 3 welding goggles are good eye protection and keep the glare down from the forge.

Steel in the press

Drawing-outThe process of drawing-out means the lengthening of the bar to a size that you can then fold in half to repeat the process of welding and drawing. By doing so, you build up the number of layers in the bar to the required number. I have drawn this bar out to about 1½ times the length I started with. Next I take the bar and cut the ends off it with a cut-off disc in a grinder (cutting and grinding outside for health reasons). This is to remove the two ends originally arc-welded together so all of the material we have is now forge-welded.

Then put a handle back on one end of the bar. Mark the bar exactly in the middle with a piece of chalk and cut almost through the bar with the cut off disc. Leave just a small amount of metal as a hinge. Turn the bar over in the vice and grind the whole of that side of the bar to remove the scale. Now lift the end of the bar that is not held in the vice and fold it back on the other end. This means that both ground sides will be against each other and the ends should line up. I should also add here that the forging of the bar should be as even as possible so that the sides and edges are parallel.

If the bar gets too cold during this phase you may have a problem with the folding over of the halves and the steel will want to break. Put the bar back into the forge. The small area of the hinge will heat very quickly and enable you to fold it easily. Flux the bar and re-turn it to the forge. The hinge will hold both pieces together and in line. I bring the bar back to weld-ing temperature and in this welding phase I use the press. The bar can be hand-hammered to weld it as before, but at this point I prefer to use the press.

Billet welded to 22 layers

The forge-welding process is a combination of pressure, heat, ﬂux and cleanliness of the steel. Get that right and the welding process takes place. Once the steel is welded, a consolidation of the weld takes place as more work is done on that piece of steel. If the weld is not successful to start with, no amount of pressure or hammering alone will correct it. The area must be opened up, cleaned, fluxed and re-welded.

Grind the edges on both sides (so that one edge is not proud of the other) and the end where the handle is for the same reason. We are now back with the bar ready to draw out. The original bar had 11 layers but we now have 22 layers as a result of the fold. Simply continue in this manner, drawing out, folding, and forge-welding until we have built the layers up to the desired number.

The bars I make have between 20 and 250 layers in them depending on their end-use. It is easy to take the layer count up to the thou-sands because each time you fold the metal you are doubling the number of layers. However, once you are over about a thousand layers, the eye cannot differentiate between them.

Twisting the bar

Pattern FormationI am now going to twist the bar I have made. The twisting should be done at welding heat or close to it. I use an old pipe wrench with an extra handle welded on the other side. Due to the heat of the steel it will twist very easily. I will now re-square and draw down the bar to its finished size. There is a large loss of material in the making of damascus because of the continuous scaling of the metal and the grinding and cutting.

AnnealingNow the bar is finished it needs to be taken to critical temperature (this is the temperature the steel would be taken to if you were hardening it) and slowly cooled. When the steel gets to critical temperature, it will become non-magnetic. Use a mag-net to check this if you are unsure. Depending on the steel you use, this bar will be at the dull-to-medium-red range. The bar should then be pushed into a container of either lime or wood ash. This retains the heat and allows the bar to cool very slowly. This is annealing and leaves the steel in a very soft form suitable to drill, grind, file or cut.

Bar annealing in wood ash

EtchingThe final phase here is the etching of the steel to expose the pattern. The scale is removed and any pitting or other surface imperfections ground away. The higher the finish on the metal, the better the result when etching. It is commonly thought that the etching process will remove any imperfections. Not so. It tends to highlight them. Different acids will produce quite different results when etching. One that I have found to produce good results is ferric chloride at about a 4:1 mix. Do make sure to wear good protection against possible exposure of your skin or eyes to the acid.

Place the bar in the container of acid. You will find the pattern will show almost immediately but leave the bar in the container for say ten minutes to allow the etching pro-cess to start taking effect. Etching will be quicker on a warm day than in cool weather. Take the bar out, put it under running water and rub it down with a fine grit paper, preferably the same as you used to finish the bar with or finer. You are removing the sludge of fine oxide that has built up on the bar and will slow the etching process. Put the bar back in the acid and repeat. How deep you etch is up to you and really a matter of preference. When you are happy with the etch then take out the bar for the final time and rub down as before under running water, then neutralise the acid.

The neutraliser for ferric chloride is trisodium phosphate. But if you don’t have it handy, spray the bar with WD40 or similar and this should stop any rust occurring as a result of the etching. If you do have trisodium phosphate then make a saturated solution of that and put the bar in it for a few minutes. Well that’s all there is to it...

1: High finish before etching 2: After 30 seconds of etching 3: Rub down with fine grit

* Matt James is the director of Damascus New Zealand and lives and works near Taupo. More information about damascus steel can be found on Matt James’s website http://www.damascus.co.nz.

Cutting Edge: How to make a Damascus steel knifeRestoring a 1971 Johnson outboard motorProjectsThe ShedThu, 08 Mar 2018 02:28:46 +0000https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/3/7/restoring-a-1971-johnson-outboard-motor58ae57208419c2c2bcb7954b:58ae58b3bebafb364665f29f:5aa09b2741920227028643a9A couple of Shed readers start a rebuild project for the Shed MagazineWe got this email from a Shed reader who was sent a project from another Shed reader, the rebuild of a 1971 Johnson 25hp outboard motor.

The challenge, to rebuild this outboard from a box of bits

The idea being that this pile of bits would eventually become a backup motor for his fishing boat. So nice to see our readers are thinking of us. Here at The Shed we are already looking forward to the restored engine article.Below is the note that came with the engine, the Sheddies names have been deleted. "As mentioned earlier, herewith the old Johnson outboard from dad’s shed. Make of it what you will or if you are not inclined or reckon it is not worth the effort or in the too hard basket or whatever, pass it onto someone who may be keen to give it a go, or, simply send it to the tip.In any event, I reckon it could be a good article for The Shed magazine so if you or someone else wants to give it a go and give it a Lazarus type resurrection or rebirth, maybe take some photos for a Shed article as you go along.Kind regards and cheers to all."Onya fellas.